Smile
by SheMarauder
Summary: Seventeen year old Tina Hems has been abused by her father her entire life. One night changes everything, and now she's finally free to make a life of her own. But the city she ends up in surprises even her. (Don't own Batman.)
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I know what some of you are probably thinking: "Oh my god Shemarauder, another story?" I know! I know. I have so many that are unfinished, but I couldn't help it! So don't be mad and instead enjoy my magical writing abilities. Besides I _will_ finish all of my stories eventually, it's just gonna take a while.**

* * *

I stared down at my purple converse wondering, not for the first time, why I was alive. My life had no meaning. Nobody cared about me except maybe my mother. Even then she rarely showed it because my father would punish her when she did.

My father. He's the reason my life was a complete hell. He hated me the minute I was born. All because he wanted a son. This was a fact he reminded me of every single day, either when I was walking passed him to escape to the "safe" place that was my room, or when he would beat me till I pass out.

There was nowhere for me to escape to. He never signed me up for school, which then led him to believe I was stupid. That, thankfully, wasn't true. My mother taught me how to count, and how to read. She gave me pens and paper so I could practice how to read and write. I did my best to keep them hidden but father found out about it. That was the worst beating I've ever gotten.

I had no friends because I was never allowed to go outside. I was confined to my room, and only came out to quickly grab something to eat and drink before I raced back up to my room. If I got lucky father wouldn't see me. Whenever he did see me he would scream and throw things at me. Sometimes he would chase me down so he could beat me again, for absolutely no other reason then for breathing.

When I was younger I would ask my mother, "Why is daddy so mean? Why does he hit me?". She would just give me a watery smile and say, "It's his way of showing he loves us."

I didn't believe it then, and I definitely didn't believe it now.

With a near silent sigh I looked up from my converse to examine my room. It was basically bare. My mattress was filthy from years of use and never changing the sheets. A small lamp was sitting on the floor against the wall, but the bulb went out years ago and I wasn't stupid enough to ask for a new one. There was a small closet where I hid all of my books under mounds of clothes.

Every day I wore the same outfit. A t-shirt with black pajama pants and my converse. If I was cold then I'd throw on my black sweatshirt. They were my favorite pants. Mother found them at some store called Hot Topic. They were all black, but on the left leg there was a word. The pair I had on said Batman.

With slow movements I silently opened my door. I learned many years ago that any noise would set my father off. It made going to the bathroom that much harder, but it seemed to be the one thing he won't get worked up over.

When I was finished with my business I stared at my reflection in the cracked mirror. All I saw were hollow grey eyes and unkempt dirty-blonde hair. It's the same thing I saw every day. Seventeen year olds like me were supposed to be enjoying the end of the school year. Not me, no, I was a prisoner in my own home. A place where I was supposed to be loved unconditionally by my parents–

"TINA!"

–but that would never be anything more than a dream.

Exiting from the bathroom I slowly made my way to the living room. My father could be heard cursing up a storm. From the sounds of it he wasn't drunk, and that made it even worse. At least when he was drunk he would tire more easily and would believe me if I pretended to be passed out.

I could also hear my mother trying desperately to talk to him. I respected her for trying to stand up for me, but the only way for me to love her like a child should then she would take me away from this hell hole.

"Robert please! She was only–"

"Shut up!" A loud slap echoed throughout the house. "I am in charge here. You will _never_ try to tell me what to do, ever again. Do you understand me?!"

The sound of something crashing to the floor had me rushing down the hallway. I may not hold a lot of love for my mother, but I hate it when she gets hurt. Especially when she's trying to defend me because then it's partially my fault.

In the living room I came across a sight I had seen several times before. My mother was laying on the ground with an arm thrown out in front of her. Father was standing above her–his chest heaving in anger. The lamp had been the source of the noise. Mother must have fallen into it, and now the broken pieces lay scattered across the floor.

Another difference, however, was the knife he held tightly in his right hand. I have a few scars from it, but he's never taken it out on mom before.

I felt anger well up in my chest. This–This beast of a man attacked his wife. Does he not see the devotion she has for him? Why doesn't he love her? Why doesn't he love me? Because she failed and I was born a girl? Newsflash half of me is his fault so he shouldn't be taking anything out on my mother.

Racing back to my room I dug through my closet until I found the pocket knife mother secretly bought for me. It was nothing special really, just a simple black handle with a two inch blade that swings in and out.

Pinching the edge of the blade I pulled it out until it clicked into place. It was a simple knife. Nothing special, no decorations or shiny silver in the blade itself. None of that mattered though. I loved it. Used it to carve things on my bedroom walls sometimes.

Coming out of my observations I heard a high-pitched scream. Not wasting another second I raced out of my bedroom and froze at the entry way into the living room.

Father was kneeling over mothers body. His arm rose viciously into the air, the knife in his hand now covered in blood, before bringing it back down.

Without my consent my feet started moving towards the horrifying scene. I could see crimson blood pooling around them. There was so much of it already I couldn't wrap my head around where it was all coming from.

I stood directly behind father. The blood was covering the bottom of my shoes and the cuff of my pants. But I wasn't paying any attention to that. I was entranced by my fathers arm going up and down, up and down.

His arm came down one final time. I waited for him to lift it again, but he didn't. Instead his shoulders started shaking. At first I thought he was crying. The thought made me angry–what right did he have to cry?

I suddenly realized my mistake when I heard him chuckle. It was soft at first, like a whisper, but it grew louder and louder until he was cackling up at the ceiling.

His laughter only served to make me even more furious. Crying was one thing, but to hear him laugh about killing his own wife made my vision go red.

Gripping my own blade with absolute surety I took two steps forward. I didn't want him turning around because I knew he was stronger than me, so I quickly grabbed him by the hair, yanked him closer to me, and brought my blade around his head to rest against the side of his neck.

Leaning down to his ear I whispered, "Go to Hell," before wrenching my knife across his neck. My knife cut through his skin as if it were nothing more than butter.

He started making odd choking noises as he fell forward. Mothers body was crushed underneath his, but I couldn't find it in myself to care. I felt no guilt for killing the man who was supposed to be my father. Logically I knew that meant something was wrong with me. People are supposed to feel bad about killing mothers, especially a family member.

Instead I felt…free. No more beatings, no more hiding in my own home, no more bruises, no more listening to my mother trying to defend me and getting her own punishment for it.

Looking down at my hand I saw that it was covered in blood, as was my knife. I slowly swung the blade back into the handle and put it in my pocket. I looted my fathers pockets and pulled out his wallet, phone, and car keys. In my mothers purse I found more money. I left her credit cards because I didn't need those.

Running up to my parents room I dove into their closet and looked around before finding an old jewelry box. Mother said everything inside belonged to my grandmother before she passed away. I put on all of the bracelets and necklaces while shoving the earrings into my pockets. I put one pair into my ears though.

All of the stones were real so I knew they were worth something. I don't know where I was going, but wherever it was I would need money.

Walking around the house made all of the jewelry I was wearing hit against one another. All of the noise made me cringe in wait for my father to yell at me, but nothing happened. I rushed through the house and reveled in my new sense of freedom. Nobody was going to beat me or tell me we can't run away because "daddy loves us".

Grabbing the charger for the phone I went to the front door and took one last look at my house. My eyes were immediately drawn to the dead couple on the floor. I stared at them blankly. I held no sense of loss for them. Instead of crying like any normal seventeen year old would do when faced with their parents deaths, I smiled and locked the door behind me.


	2. Chapter 2

The plan to hop in my fathers car and skip town was put on hold when I remembered I had never driven a car before. I was at least able to start the car before figuring out how everything else worked.

It was about five minutes of button pressing before I finally learned I needed to step on the pedal on the left before thirsting the stick thing sitting between the seats. Choosing between PRNDL I figured the R meant reverse. Hesitantly pressing on the break I clutched the top of the stick and pulled it down to the R.

When nothing happened I immediately relaxed. I haven't even left the driveway and I was ready to call it quits. Instead I pulled it together and let up on the break. The car startled me when it moved so I stomped on the breaks again.

I practiced driving in the neighborhood for about an hour. By then I was sick of driving, but at least I felt confident enough to go out onto an actual road.

That confidence shot out the window once I realized there were other cars on those roads. Every time one of them passed me I would tense up because I thought they would hit me. The only thing saving me from actually getting into an accident was the fact it was the middle of the night.

Driving eventually became too much for me so I pulled over to the side of the road, got out, and followed the asphalt. Now I could stare at my surrounding without worrying about running into anything. I've only ever been able to see the outside world through my bedroom window, and even then I could only see cars, grass, the sky, and our neighbors house!

Tall lamps lit up the streets with orange light, there were a bunch of small buildings further down the road all lined up next to each other. I quickened my pace–wanting to know what the building held as soon as possible–but it was not meant to be.

Bright lights flashed somewhere behind me, followed by the sound of a blaring horn. I covered my ears against the noise and spun around. The sight of a semi–a giant monstrosity on six wheels–barreling towards me froze me in place.

It just kept coming and coming and _coming_. Why didn't it stop? Wasn't there someone driving it? Why was the end of it swinging across the road like that? And _ohmygoditImgonnadie_ –!

The headlights of the semi blinded me. Even when I shut my eyes against the light it was still there. My body tensed in preparation of being hit, but all I felt was a gust of hot air. I shuddered in terror but inside my mind I couldn't help but think this was just my luck. Finally kill my father and feel free; only to get hit by a semi on a highway because I decided I didn't want to drive anymore.

It took several minutes for me to wrap my mind around the fact nothing hit me. I left my fingers in my ears and stayed in a crouched position but cracked open one of my eyes.

My surroundings had both of my eyes snapping wide open, my arms falling against the wet pavement, and my body slumped back so I was sitting down with my legs half-sprawled in front of me.

There was no lit up highway with semi's and small buildings in the distance. Instead I was in the middle of a street surrounded by rundown buildings, garbage, dingy street lamps, and stale air.

I didn't understand what was going on. Where was I, and how did I get there? Maybe the semi actually did run me over, but I was killed instantly so I didn't feel it. Does that mean this was the afterlife? I thought heaven was supposed to be white with clouds and a golden gate. Unless this was hell. The dirty surroundings would probably fit hell better than heaven.

Finding more answers meant I'd need to move. Taking a steadying breath I dragged my feet underneath me and pushed myself into a standing position. I spun around in a circle to take it all in. Something told me this wasn't hell. I knew I wasn't asleep because I still had dried blood on my hand.

With calculating eyes I drew up my hood and walked over to the sidewalk. I had no desire to actually get run over. This time no doubt I would actually get hurt.

Reaching into the pockets on my pajamas my hands came across the earrings, phone, and money I'd shoved in there. Blinking in surprise I pulled out all of the earrings and put them in the pocket of my sweatshirt. They had less of a chance falling out of there. After a quick check I discovered I was still wearing the necklaces and bracelets.

The phone was an iPhone 6 Plus. I wondered how my father could have afforded this instead of an abortion for my mother. Although I always heard him bitching about me being an accident and mother wanted the gender to be a surprise. He could have put me in an orphanage, but apparently that would have been too merciful for a "fuck up".

It was only 4:17 on the morning. Whatever place I was in now probably didn't have any open stores this early. Counting out the money I'd stashed I my pocket I frowned. There was two hundred and seven dollars. I could get a hotel room maybe, but that wouldn't leave much for food.

Growling in irritation I crumpled up the money and shoved my fists into my sweater pocket. My fingers uncurled to mess around with the earrings while I turned down a small side alley. I needed to find somewhere to hunker down, or at least sit until I could search during the day time.

The alley I chose wasn't as deserted as I first thought. Further down I saw a man holding a woman up against the brick building. He was attacking her mouth with his and it made me cringe. How could people enjoy that?

I went to turn away, but just as I had the man came up for air. The woman took a deep breath before emitting a sharp scream. The man immediately covered her mouth with his hand and started whispering something I was too far away to hear.

That was not a scream of pleasure.

Analyzing the situation more closely I saw the woman was actually struggling against the man. He was holding her wrists against the wall with one of his hands while keeping her mouth covered with the other.

My eyebrows furrowed in anger and I continued walking down the alleyway. I unconsciously adapted to the silent walk I gained from living my abused life.

Not a sound came from me. Only the soft scuffling from the two further down the alley. I reached into my right pocket to pull out my knife. My other hand came over to unfold the blade from the handle, and I ran my thumb across the flat surface. I paid no attention to the flakes of dried blood as they fell to the damp ground.

Ducking my head a little I walked with hunched shoulders. Its what I always did when I was near my father; my submissive pose. Now it didn't feel like that at all. I felt like I was ready to pounce, and I knew who my prey was.

The mans hands moved again. The woman took the opportunity to bring up her hand and slap him across the face. I continued to creep closer, my black clothes blending me in to the unlit alley, while the man froze. The woman froze as well, knowing she just got herself into even deeper shit.

His body drew up in tension before back handing her right across the face. She cried out in pain and collapsed. The man wasn't having any of that, so he grabbed her by the throat and slammed her back against the wall. She struggled, clawing at his hand, wrist, arm, neck, whatever she could reach. But it just wasn't enough. He was strangling her, and her last thought was of her little sister before everything went black.

As soon as the woman's body slumped against his hands I grabbed him by the hair and jerked his head back. With his neck exposed I reached around with my knife and sliced it across his neck. Just like my father he fell to the ground with a gurgle–hands pressing against his neck as if it would help.

I watched dispassionately as he fell to the ground. Now that the woman no longer had someone to hold her up she pitched forward and right into me. Her face got squished against my neck as I hooked my arms beneath hers.

With her face right there I could feel her shallow breaths drifting over my neck. It was hot, moist, and very uncomfortable, so I quickly dragged her to the other side of the alley and propped her against the wall. Obviously she was still alive, but I would deal with her later.

Turning back to the man I stared at his pathetic form. A twisted idea formed in my head as blood oozed from his neck to form a halo around his head.

Rolling up my pant legs so they didn't get more blood on them I crouched over the dead man. Taking my knife to the collar of the mans shirt I quickly ripped it down to expose his torso. Breathing deeply to steady myself I brought the tip of my knife to his skin and cut two circles right beside each other. I cut another curved line–one above each brow. Then a little below the circles I cut down and then curved it. Under that I made a wide u-shape, then attached a smaller u on the side of it with a line in the middle.

I pursed my lips thoughtfully as I gazed at my work. Something was missing.

When I figured out what it needed I huffed a little through my nose. Taking my knife I went back to the two circles I drew. On the inside, against the bottom edges, I drew another curved line. It made an oval shape with pointy ends. They needed to be colored in with something. So I flipped my knife around in my hold and stabbed several times inside of the shapes.

Pulling away from his body I surveyed my work. Now proudly carved on this mans stomach was a smiley face with its tongue sticking out. I felt very proud of myself until it finally hit me that I just killed a man and then proceeded to carve into his body.

My eyes were riveted on a drop of blood that welled along the end of the face's tongue. Where was the guilt? The pain over the fact I've now killed two people? Aren't I supposed to feel bad about this? Disgusted? Instead I feel completely content. Happy even. And shocked over the fact I don't have any depressed emotions.

I thought of wiping my hand across the face to get rid of the blood, but that would on,y make it worse. It might also leave my fingerprints.

I gasped quietly. My DNA! These two were here and killable then I wasn't in any sort of afterlife. They were also human beings so it wasn't another planet. I was in a town of some sort. A city. I could find out where later but right now I knew cities had police officers. People were going to find this man and see what I did.

A swell of pride rose in my chest and I looked down at it incredulously. Really? I was happy that they would see a dead man and most likely find my traces of my DNA all over the place, then proceed to arrest me and cart me off to jail.

The pride was replaced by determination. There wasn't a snowballs chance in hell that I would be going to jail. If they wanted to get me they'd have to chase me. I even decided to give them a little hint.

Leaning forward I brought my knife against his skin, a little ways under the smiley face. I just made a little dash before cutting a capital T. It's like how people would sign off on artwork or a letter or something.

Now officially done with the man I wiped the blade of my knife with his shirt to remove the blood. Most came off, but the dried stuff from earlier required a little more elbow grease.

Once finished with that I turned back to the woman to see she'd slumped to the side. With a mix of a growl and a groan I walked over to pull her back into a sitting position. I didn't know what to do with her. The idea of leaving her in the alley made me uncomfortable. Killing her made no sense because she hadn't done anything wrong, and I wasn't in the killing mood. That meant I either had to stay in the alley with her until she woke up, or move her.

I wasn't exactly strong. Nothing in my life has graced me with muscles. I was lean from lack of regular meals, but that's about it.

Unfortunately I would have to move her. Staying next to a dead body with a face carved into it wouldn't give a good impression. So, folding my knife back up and sticking it into my pajama pocket, I bent down so my shoulder was at the woman's waist. I pushed her so she'd fall against my back and I used the wall to help me stand back up.

Everything in me screamed "drop her!" but I didn't. Instead I kept one arm against the brick wall with the other curved around her waist to keep her from tumbling off. She looked skinny on the ground, but Jesus she was heavy. Not to mention she was fairly young so she shouldn't be so heavy.

It was slow going, but eventually I made it out of the alley and onto the sidewalk. The sun was starting to rise and I needed to get out of there fast. It seemed the longer she was on my shoulder the easier it was to carry her. I could speed up my walk without worrying about tumbling backwards.

I couldn't just leave her own some strangers porch. Knocking on someone's door was out of the question since they would start asking what happened. Without any real options I ducked into another alley. Those time I made sure nobody was there before going a little deeper and setting her down as gently as possible.

Her breathing was quicker than earlier–probably a signal she would be waking up pretty soon. It had a ragged note to it, and I noticed the bruises forming around her sympathetically I examined the rest of her body and saw how dirty and used her clothing was.

Fingering one of the white diamond bracelets on my wrist I unlatched it. It was nothing special. A silver chain with six small diamonds evenly placed apart from one another. I had plenty of others I could sell.

Clasping it around her wrist I slowly stood up to leave the alley. It was six o'clock now. Maybe there was a library around here that I could try and find. Then I could find out what was going on.

With one last look down the alley I could finally stop worrying about the woman. She was out of sight, and nobody would be able to see her unless they really looked. So with a tired sigh I took off my hood and trudged towards the middle of the city where all the skyscrapers were.

* * *

In the middle of an alleyway in the Narrows a young woman slowly woke up. She looked around confusedly for a moment before memories came crashing around her. Her hand shot up to her throat while she cautiously looked around. The horrible man from the night before was missing. He was obviously going to kill her, so what changed?

Taking her hand away from her tender throat, a flash made her look down. Her breath got caught in her throat when at the sight of a diamond bracelet innocently wrapped around her wrist. The bracelet was absolutely beautiful and clean. It didn't belong anywhere in the Narrows, and yet it was on her wrist.

Leaning her head back against the alley wall she cried. Cried for the fact she was still alive when she should have died, and somebody must have saved her and given her this bracelet.

Later that night the woman held her baby sister while watching the news. A picture of her attacker flashed on the screen, announcing his murder. The woman gasped in surprise. She though the Batman had been the one to save her. But she supposed that didn't exactly fit his routine. He didn't give people diamond bracelets or leave a knocked out victim in an alley. The woman looked at the number displayed on the screen for people to call should they have more information on what happened. All she would be able to tell them was that she was almost raped and then nearly strangled to death.

So she ignored it and focused on her sister. Her mind now clear knowing her attacker could never hurt her or anyone else ever again.


	3. Chapter 3

It was my first time walking through a city. I had to crane my neck to see the top of the skyscrapers, and the honking traffic made me flinch in remembrance of my brief meeting with death. Those two things I could deal with, but dodging the mass crowds on the sidewalk was a lot more difficult to deal with.

None of those people looked very welcoming so I ducked into what looked like a restaurant and tried my luck with the host, "Where's the library?"

He smiled politely, "It's twelve blocks from here. Take a left out of these doors and keep going straight." Nodding politely I scurried out and did my best to dodge out of people's way.

When I came across marble steps leading up to a large building I looked up. The name of the building had y shoulder slumping and my features twisting into a mess of confusion.

Gotham City Public Library.

My brain floundered for some sort of explanation. Last time I checked Gotham City was a Batman thing. Why was there a library named after it?

Jogging up the stairs I slowly pushed open the glass doors. My eyes widened in amazement. All of these books were begging for me to read them, and nobody could tell me I couldn't. It was wonderfully silent inside as well.

Quickly walking to the front desk I got the stern woman's attention, "Have any newspapers?" All of my life I've been practically a mute. I'm now trying to keep talking to a minimum because now I find it uncomfortable. It makes me seem a little rude but I couldn't help it.

The librarian narrowed her eyes at me but nonetheless pointed to the right, "They're against the wall, with the magazines."

Averting my eyes I nodded silently in thanks and followed her directions. I found them easily and grabbed a chunk of them. Carrying them over to a table I placed them in the left corner so I had room to read it and set it to the right when I was finished. Pulling out the seat I grabbed the first paper and sat back.

Twenty minutes later I was flipping through the last paper like a mad woman. Every single paper mentioned Batman. Not as a comic or the movies, but the actual Bat Man who saves lives. There were interviews with people on what they thought about him. Some were good while the majority was negative.

I huffed quietly with laughter. These people hated Batman while he risks his life to save theirs. Not to mention he helps the police all the time. If Batman were to suddenly disappear Gotham would probably panic.

A couple of the papers mentioned Bruce Wayne. Playboy billionaire who apparently isn't very bright and constantly throws his money around as if it were water. One reporter basically said he wasn't very bright and his parents would be rolling in their graves at his behavior. That one had me dropping the paper and covering my mouth with both hands to keep my hysterical laughter at bay. These people didn't realize he was Batman. Accomplishing more for this city than anyone else has.

More recent papers mentioned a new villain called The Joker. That name had my stomach twisting with excitement. I loved The Joker, he was so cool. Not to mention he's wicked smart. Obviously he makes the bombs he uses, and while he doesn't plan he prepares for situations that haven't happened yet. Like when he gets arrested.

Absolutely brilliant, or, as I like to say, insanely intelligent. He's why the back of my sweatshirt has the phrase "Why so serious?".

The most recent article said Joker crashed the party Bruce Wayne threw for the new DA Harvey Dent. Batman made an appearance and disappeared after Rachel Dawes was thrown out the window.

Possibilities of this being a hoax were blown away by the magazine covers. Rich people I've never seen or heard of except for Bruce Wayne. He looks just like Christian Bale from The Dark Knight I wondered if it was really him, but the only name to show up was Wayne.

Carefully placing the newspapers and magazines where I found them I sat back down and started to think.

Somehow I got hit by a semi and it sent me to Gotham City. Not just to Gotham but about seven years in the past. Same month and day I left, but it was 2009. It must've been some sort of alternate universe kind of thing. Just thinking about it made me feel absolutely ridiculous.

There's still the possibility all of this is my imagination. The truck could have hit me and just sent me into a coma, not another world entirely.

But it just felt so real: the noises, the people, the smells, everything! Killing that man just like killing my father.

That brings up another problem of mine. I've killed two people now. One of them being my father and the other one some lowlife that I carved a face onto. I also saw my mother being stabbed to death. These are things people would have nightmares about and feel guilty for taking someone's life. Since I haven't slept for the past two days I don't know if I'll have nightmares, but I definitely don't feel bad about what I did. Along with no sense of loss for my mother.

My stomach growled loudly, cutting off my thoughts to remind me I haven't eaten in two days either. With a question for the librarian I headed to the closest supermarket. Closest being about five miles walk but I had to take what I could get.

It was in a more suburban part of the city. More houses than apartments, less cars, and there was enough space to put a parking lot in front of the market.

With my two hundred and eight dollars I entered the store, and the first thing I grabbed was a black drawstring. Next was a hairbrush, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant. I decided to get a pack panties and another bra, along with black sweatpants and a t-shirt. I made sure they were plain because my pajamas said Batman, and while that wasn't bad the t-shirt I currently wore showed The Joker holding up a joker card, making it cover half his face. I loved it, but Gothamites certainly won't. I could see the store already removed everything with the color purple.

With it being the middle of summer I decided I better get a pair of shorts. It wasn't so bad today, but wearing pajamas or sweatpants wouldn't be very wise. So, grabbing a pair of black jean shorts. With a package of beef jerky and a bottle of soda I made my way to the checkout. I noticed people eyeing my pajama pants, but I ignored them. I couldn't imagine what they'd do if they saw my Joker shirt.

Now one hundred dollars lighter I took out everything but the soda and shoved them into the drawstring. It was a tight fit, but I forced them inside so I didn't have to carry so many bags.

Ripping open the beef jerky I wandered my way around the city. That was how I spent the rest of my day in the city. Walking around and occasionally buying some junk food from cafés to snack on. I tried my very first cup of coffee and fell in love. Whenever I needed to use the bathroom I would use one in a restaurant.

All of my wandering a eventually brought me right back to the dilapidated part of the city. If I remembered correctly it was called the Narrows. It pretty sketchy looking in the setting sun, but that would be because of all the crime going on. Hopefully there was some abandoned building I could crash in because I was bone tired from my previous lack of sleep, and the entire day of sightseeing.

It only took half an hour before I ran into trouble. I should have known wearing jewelry in the Narrows would have drawn unwanted attention. There's nothing but greed in this part of the city, and I should have known better.

Instead I had to learn from an arm snapping out of a dry alley to grab my sweater and pull me into the darkness. I felt my back hit a wall while some creep got way too close to my face.

"That's a lot of stones you're wearing. I bet they cost a pretty penny, huh?"

My initial reaction was to be afraid, but that morphed into a simmering anger. I didn't bother listening to whatever crap he was breathing against my face. My hands went into my pocket to grab my I knife and unfold it. As quick as possible I brought up my arm to hold the sharp end against his neck.

When he realized what I'd done he chuckled, "You really think you can kill me?"

Sneering in response I dragged my knife all the way across his throat, making sure it was deep enough to ruin his windpipe.

Surprise was clear on his face as he fell to the ground. His hand was at his throat trying to stop the bleeding, but that wouldn't clear his airway. He died staring at the sky in horrified surprise with his bloodied hand on his neck.

Just like the night before I cut open his shirt and carved a smiley face onto his skin with –T underneath it. This one was better than the last face I drew. I guess practice makes perfect.

Rummaging through his pockets I pulled out his wallet and took his cash. He only had ten bucks, but I didn't care. It's ten more than I had earlier.

Feeling paranoid I drew up my hood and ran to the other side of the alley. At the end I calmed myself down before casually walking down the sidewalk. At this time of night it was completely deserted, but I didn't mind. It made walking around a lot easier.

Once it was completely dark outside I finally found somewhere I could hide out during the night. A completely rundown building with broken windows and graffiti. I didn't care about what the outside looked like.

It was two floors filled with random papers, dirt, and pieces of garbage. There was no furniture on the bottom floor, and there was only an old rickety chair in one room on the second.

Without much of an option I chose the biggest room on the second floor. I chose a corner and swept away all the garbage and whatever loose dirt I could before sitting down. Taking out my hairbrush I quickly removed all the snarls from my hair. I brushed my teeth and spit it out the window. I took off my sweater and replaced my Joker shirt with the regular black one I'd bought. Then I didn't have to worry so much about washing it.

Wrapping the iPhone inside my sweater I laid down with the drawstring bag as a pillow. I held my sweatshirt protectively against my chest and drifted off to sleep with my hand wrapped around my knife.


	4. Chapter 4

My new life in Gotham City became a lot easier than it was back home. True I didn't have the luxury of indoor plumbing, but I didn't have to worry about getting beaten every day and I get to do whatever I want, when I want. This included going out in the middle of the night and killing people.

Admitting to myself that I kill people for a pass time wasn't that hard considering I never felt any guilt or bad feelings when looking at their bodies. Not a hint of regret. At first the lack of care worried me, but now that didn't even bother me. I didn't look forward to it either though. Killing a person a night as become practically routine. Probably because I'm in the Narrows during the night and the people there are dangerous. Sometimes I kill in self-defense, sometimes I save others. I keep my hood up to conceal my features in both cases.

The night after the parade they threw for the late commissioner something interesting happened. From what I read in the newspaper that morning Lieutenant James Gordan took the shot made for the mayor. Now Gotham was out its Commissioner and its Lieutenant.

The dwindling control of this city encouraged crime in the Narrows. Batman was still a worry, but his focus was dedicated to finding The Joker. This meant there was a lot more screaming that night in the Narrows alleyways. One in particular caught my attention.

It was close by so I decided to check it out. Making sure my hood covered my face I ducked into the alley I heard the scream come from. When I saw the situation I knew why the scream had sounded a little different.

In the middle of the alley there was a flickering light that did nothing against the alley's darkness. Next to a large dumpster stood a large man hovering above the curled up form of a blonde little boy. The little boy was shaking and I heard his heaving sobs, but the man ignored it, choosing instead to kick the boys barely protected stomach.

Sneering in disgust I took out my knife and crept forward. As usual I didn't make a single sound. Even if I had they wouldn't have been able to hear it over the kids crying and the man yelling at him to shut up. I was surprised nobody else had come to check it out. Of course this was the Narrows. People minded their own business here.

Before stepping into the lights reach I rolled my shoulders and shook out my hands. Tightening my grip on the knife I bent my knees and launched myself onto the mans back. He was a foot taller than I was so I needed the height to reach his neck and sink my knife into his skin to cut through his jugular.

His surprise worked for me so he didn't fight me. By the time he thought to do it I'd already cut through his throat and jumped off his back to stand protectively in front of the boy. The man was too busy holding a hand against the profusely bleeding wound to worry about anything else. I watched him drop to the ground and lean back against the opposite wall. His struggles slowly came to a stop as his hands dropped to his sides and his head lulled forward.

Certain the man was dead I relaxed my stance. With the immediate threat gone I looked down at the boy to see he was still in a ball. Apparently the commotion wasn't enough to make him curious enough to look–unless he did but it terrified him so he curled himself back up.

Flicking my eyes from the blood covered man to the scared boy I positioned myself between them so the blonde boy wouldn't see what I'd done. The sight of blood and dead bodies may not affect me, but I knew it would haunt a little boy.

Reaching out with two fingers I carefully nudged the boys shoulder. "Hey." My voice held its usual raspy quality from barely ever speaking. Before Gotham I hadn't spoken for so long I forgot the sound of my voice.

My minimal effort bore no results so I folded my knife and put it in my pocket. With both hands now free il grabbed the boy by his shoulders to push him into a sitting position. He made some sort of high-pitched whine, but he kept his face buried against his knees.

"Look up and you'll know what's happening."

The boy shook his head and curled up even more. It made me sigh and I turned around to face the man and finish my work. My signature smiley face stood out proudly on the mans pectoral with my initial sitting beneath it. I wiped my knife on his pants to remove the blood then put it away for good.

"W–What are you do–doing?"

Whipping around I kept my body in front of the corpse so the boy didn't see. Usually I didn't care whether people saw the bodies; although, I did always make sure I was the only one around when carving the face.

"Helping."

The boy furrowed his eyebrows. "How?" He moved his body as if trying to see the body but I just leaned with him; determined to keep it hidden. This made the boy frustrated. "What'd you do?"

"Protect you." The talking was actually starting to make my throat hurt, and I barely said three sentences!

Telling him I'd protected him made him relax a little, but he was still wary. "Why'd you protect me?"

I tilted my head. "Should I not have?"

He had nothing to say to that so he changed the subject. "What's your name?"

I growled, surprising both myself and the boy. Giving my name was definitely not something I wanted to do. Either with him or anyone else. "You first."

The boy dropped his knees to sit Indian style. His back straightened and he lifted his head proudly. "James Gordon."

I made an interested noise in the back of my throat. The kid had looked somewhat familiar and now I remembered he'd been in the Batman movie as Gordon's son. It also reminded me of something else. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Gordon Jr. immediately ducked his head with a pained expression. His voice was barely above a whisper, "Thanks."

"S'that what you told him?" I jerked my head behind me so he knew who I was talking about.

He nodded and that helped me understand why the man was beating up some random kid. People harbored ill feelings towards Lieutenant Gordon since he was actually a decent cop and good at his job.

"Best keep your name a secret around here, Junior. S'probably why he beat you up."

James seemed to understand what I meant and nodded in agreement. He then looked at me expectantly, "You never said your name."

All I did was nod before spinning around and digging through the mans pockets. I found ring of keys, a small flip phone, and his wallet. There was no drivers license or credit cards, but there was a decent wad of cash that had me wondering if this was a mobster. If it was I probably got myself into some deep shit because I don't think mobs like it when their men get killed.

Shoving it all into my sweater pocket I turned around and held out my hand. "Come. We shouldn't talk here." I didn't need anyone coming by and seeing us near a body with my work carved into it.

He eyed my hand warily. I noticed it was my right hand, therefore being the one I'd used to kill the man and covered with drying blood. "Will you take me home?"

"Tomorrow."

James immediately protested. "But I need to get home! What about my mom?"

I shrugged because I honestly didn't care. "What about her? She wouldn't've been worrying if you didn't come here in the first place." I deserved an award for saying so much at once. "We wait for the daytime. Less criminals then."

With a put-out expression James reached out to take my wrist instead of my hand. Adjusting my hand I grabbed onto his wrist. The smearing blood made him wrinkle his nose. He must have been trying to avoid it by grabbing my wrist, but if I didn't hold him it left an opening for him to run away.

I barely made it two steps before my arm was jerked back from James freezing in place. I grunted in irritation and turned to demand what was wrong, but I immediately figured it out. When I'd moved away it allowed him to see the man's body. All the blood drained from James' face and he swayed from side to side. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed, my grip on his wrist the only thing keeping him from fully hitting the ground.

Sighing exasperatedly I pulled him into my arms to carry him bridal style. I thought more people would notice a young girl walking around with a passed out child, but I was wrong. Everybody kept their heads down to avoid confrontations. It only made everything easier for me.

Last week I'd decided to move my location from the old warehouse to some rundown shop about a mile away. The longer I stayed in one place the more likely it was for somebody to find me. It took me a little longer to get "home" then it used too but I brushed it off.

The shop was two stories. The first level was the shop itself but the second was a living space. That's why I chose it in the first place. At one point it must have been some sort of weapons store because I found a switchblade in one of the drawers. The handle was designed to look like polished black wood with white ivory. When you pressed the small silver button on the end it released a four inch blade. I've yet to use the knife because I didn't want to stain it.

Upstairs I laid James down on the ratty old couch in the living room/kitchen. I sat on the end and placed his head in my lap. Not wanting him to escape during the night I decided to stay awake until he regained consciousness. To pass the time I took out the iPhone and messed around with the apps.

I'd experimented with the phone before. Calling the numbers on it to see if they worked–most didn't. I deleted them all in the end anyway, along with all the pictures. Surprisingly enough there were some good songs my father downloaded. I put on "The Sound of Silence" by Disturbed while playing Tiny Tower and sudoku.

An hour later James was still unconscious and I successfully finished my third sudoku puzzle. Switching to the music app I scrolled through to try and find something when my pocket started ringing. Loudly.

I cursed in surprise and dropped the iPhone. Quickly reaching into my pocket I grabbed the phone I'd taken from my victim and flipped it open. The only phone I'd ever dealt with was the iPhone so I had no idea what button to press until I spotted the red phone icon. As soon as I pushed it the ringing stopped. Looking at James to see he was still out like a light I sighed. Shouldn't he be awake by now?

The phone in my hand suddenly started ringing again. I jumped a little before glaring at it. Without looking at the caller i.d. I pressed the green phone icon and snarled into the receiver.

Whoever was on the other end started cackling when they heard the noise. "Oh ho _ho_. Are you _angry_ with me Chuck? Is that why you had the _gall_ to hang. Up. On. Me?"

The man's voice started out rather high pitched, but near the end it changed into something much, much darker. Chuck must've been the guy I killed then, and from the sounds of it he had some dangerous friends.

"Chuck's gone."

There was a pause on the other end. He obviously hadn't expected anybody else to answer the phone.

"And, uh," there was a giggle, "who is _this_?"

I huffed through my nose. This was the second time I've been asked for my name. Although now I was twice as reluctant to give it. "M'nobody."

"No, no. I don't, ah, don't thin _k_ so."

"Who're you?"

Another pause, and then laughter so loud I had to hold the phone away from my ear. It lasted a few minutes before I could safely hold it against my ear again. "You don't _know_?"

I'd never met anybody with a voice like this. Occasional change in tone, accents on random letters or words. The more I thought about it the more I realized I'd never met someone with this kind of voice, but I've heard of them.

"Joker?" The dark chuckle I got as a response was the only thing I needed to confirm my suspicions.

Now, some people probably would have been absolutely terrified to know that they were currently talking to the worst villain Gotham's ever seen. I, on the other hand, felt absolutely ecstatic. I had to cover the speaker so I could squeal excitedly without him knowing.

"You know me but, heheh, I still don't know who _you_ are. Orrrr where Ch _uck_ is." His voice held the promise of pain should I decide not to tell him anything.

"Chuck's in an alley."

"A _nnn_ d?"

"I'm nobody."

I heard something similar to a growl. "Look toots, I'm trying to be a _nice guy_ here–"

"And I appreciate the sentiment." I must've had a death wish for cutting off The Joker. "But I told you I'm nobody. Why would I lie?"

"Because that's what people _do_ , cupcake."

"Then you're a liar too. Does that mean everything you've ever said or done is one big elaborate lie?"

Joker chuckled darkly, "You've got _nerve_ , sweets. I like it."

From my lap I heard a quiet groan. Looking down I saw James' eyelids flickering. They were still closed, but he was probably just now waking up. "Got to go." I didn't wait for an answer before snapping the phone shut.

Putting that phone back in my pocket I grabbed the iPhone to turn off the music. I shoved it into my sweater pocket to keep it hidden. Wouldn't do for anyone to see technology from eight years in the future.

With expectant eyes I watched James until his eyes slowly fluttered open. They flicked around the room in confusion before I saw him begun to panic. I grabbed the back of his shirt before he could bolt off of the couch.

Immediately he started screaming, so I wrapped my arms and legs around him to keep him still before taking out my knife, flicking my wrist in one smooth motion to reveal the blade, and held it against his neck. His movements immediately stilled when e felt the cool blade.

With his side pressed against the front of my body all I had to do was lean forward so I could whisper in his ear, "Don't panic. If I wanted to kill you, I already would've. Are we clear?" I waited for him to nod before releasing my hold.

James immediately scrambled away from me and sat against the wall across from the couch. I stayed where I was to give him some space while he drew his knees up to his chest.

"You're T."

My eyebrows rose but I nodded anyway. "How'd you know?"

His face paled just like it had when he'd seen the man's dead body. "The way you k–killed him. The face is T's signature mark, and the," he swallowed harshly, "the neck."

I hmm'ed. "Didn't know people noticed." Obviously I knew people would find the bodies, but I hadn't realized my smileys would be given much notice–which was rather stupid on my part. I needed to watch the news.

"My dad is," he cleared his throat, "was looking for you."

"Oh?"

"You're a criminal. You kill people for no reason!"

"Sometimes," I agreed. "Sometimes I'll see someone walking by and I'll get them. But other nights, like tonight, I end up helping people."

James bit his lip. "Why do you help them?"

I shrugged. "Why shouldn't I? They're people in need of help, so I help them in the only way I can or want to. Besides, by killing them it means they'll never hurt anybody ever again."

"But you don't have to kill them! Just send them to jail!"

"No." My calm contrasted against his heated words. "Jail doesn't necessarily help. One day they'll be released and then they'll just keep doing whatever it was they did to get sent to jail in the first place."

"But Batman–"

I held up a hand to stop that argument before it even began. "I respect Batman for what he's done and continues to do, but we're two different people. He has his morals and I have mine."

James stared at me with a hint of fear. "Are you gonna kill me?"

"I already told you if I wanted to I already would have."

He seemed to relax a little more, but kept his guard up, "I want to go home."

"You will. But I'm not taking you right now because it will be safer during the day. Not as many criminals out then." I patted the sofa. "Come get some sleep. I'll wake you in the morning."

James narrowed his eyes in defiance. Instead of coming back to the sofa he laid down right there on the floor and continued to stare at me. He obviously didn't want to close his eyes around a confirmed killer, but exhaustion slowly snuck up on him until the sound of his heavy breathing filled the room.

Chuckling at the young boys antics I pulled out the phones. It took a few tries to figure out the flip phone, but I eventually found the number that belonged to The Joker. With the iPhone I went into the (empty) contact list and added the number. At least this way if I ever decide to call or text him I don't have to try and figure out the other one.

Just thinking about contacting him made me smile. It was so surreal to know that I could talk to Joker whenever I wanted. Of course he was probably mad at me and wanted to kill me, but if I could choose how to die then I wouldn't mind going with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

Throughout the night I made sure to stay awake in case Gordon Junior got any ideas of sneaking out. He slept through the entire night so my vigilance wasn't exactly needed, but I couldn't be too cautious.

Before waking him up I changed out of my sweatpants and put on the jean shorts. I left the sweatshirt on to keep my face hidden as much as possible. It was easier at night, but the daylight will make it a lot harder.

I went through my daily routine of brushing my hair and teeth before waltzing over to Junior. "Get up." I nudged him with the toe of my converse, making him groan tiredly. When it registered just who was waking him up James bolted into a sitting position and scrambled away.

My lips twitched in amusement. It was funny knowing how much I scared this kid, and I haven't even done anything to him! "Calm down, Junior." I crouched down and rested my hands on my knees. "I've got some rules before we go."

He eyed me warily before relenting. "What?"

"You can't tell anybody you met me."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Why not?"

I clicked my tongue. "Becauuuuse. I don't want cops knowing more than they already know."

"But it's impossible!" James cried out in despair.

My eyebrows furrowed. "How?"

"My mom is gonna ask what happened. I can't lie!"

I sighed. "Not my problem." With a grunt I stood up from my crouched position. I walked around and collected all of my things to put in my drawstring. I'd have to find a new place tonight because there was no way I'd trust this kid not to give this location away. "Let's go."

At eight in the morning there wasn't much criminal activity, but I still kept a sharp eye out. I also kept a hand on James' shoulder to keep a closer eye on him and to make sure he didn't run off. Even if he did I wasn't going to chase after him.

Once we were safely out of the Narrows I let James take the lead. After ten minutes of tense silence I stopped with a tired sigh. "Come here Junior." I pulled him off to the side so we weren't in the way of the busy sidewalk.

James looked at me with reluctance. "What?"

"I'm leaving you here." His eyes widened. "I trust you can get home yourself. Don't tell anyone anything about me."

He glared. "I will tell. You're a murderer and you deserve being locked up."

I sighed and waved off his accusations. "Yeah I know. Just think of this as getting even. I saved your life, the least you can do is keep quiet about me." James obviously didn't like this so I tried something else. "Kid if it wasn't for me you would have been beaten to death. You owe me. And I'm asking you to repay that by not telling anyone what you know about me."

"Then what do you want me to say?"

"A lie. Tell them you crawled away and hid until morning. Or," I unclasped a bracelet from my wrist. I've given these to people a few times after I saved them–that is if they stayed around that long. "tell them I saved you but it was too dark for you to make anything out." I held the bracelet to see if he would take it. "If this is the route you take you need to keep my involvement small."

His lips pursed as he thought of how he was going to explain what happened. With slow movements he grabbed the bracelet. "This will be the closest to the truth," he mumbled sadly.

I sighed. "For what it's worth, Junior, I'm sorry."

James looked at me in surprise. "You're sorry?"

"Course. I don't enjoy giving you a hard time, I just don't want to be known. Like Batman."

He scoffed. "You're nothing like Batman."

I huffed through my nose. "Aren't I? I've saved people. Nobody I knows my identity. I wear all black. We're like two peas in a pod." Reaching for the bracelet I put it on his wrist and stepped back. "Enough about the Bat Man. Think you can get home from here?" He nodded once and I returned it. "Good luck kid."

The two of us went our separate ways. I half suspected screams to ring out and for people to point at me claiming "It's T! That little boy just said so!", but nothing happened. Instead I continued my usual routine of hiding in the corner of the library to read some fantasy books. Although this time I went to the newspapers first to read about what I've been missing.

What I found had me struggling not to laugh. The usual news on Batman and Joker had nothing to do with it. The police found out there was a pattern of someone cutting throats and carving faces somewhere in their body. What struck me as funny was the fact they had absolutely no idea who was doing it. They didn't even know my gender! Every mention of it said the killer was a "he".

Stifling my giggles I returned the papers to their rack and sat in my usual corner in the library. I was in the middle of The Hobbit when a loud ring echoed through the library. I cringed when I realized the source was inside my drawstring.

As quick as possible I dig into the bag until I felt my hand wrap around something small and vibrating. I took it out of the pocket of my sweatpants and realized it was the small phone I'd taken from Chuck. Flipping it open I pressed the green phone icon. Holding the phone to my ear I grunted. The librarian was giving me the stink eye so I didn't want to make a noise louder than that.

" _Girrrrlie_!"

I cringed at the high-pitched voice. At any other time I would probably rejoice at hearing it, but not when it could echo throughout a whole room and attract unwanted attention.

"Not now."

"Ha ahaha aha! I'm sorry, am I in-ter-rupting something?"

I did my best to keep my voice low. "My peace and quiet."

Joker laughed as if I had just said the funniest thing. "I'd hate to do _that_!" He stage whispered.

"Was there a reason you called?" I wanted to get back to my book.

"Well it jus _t so happens_ , there is. Since you, uh, got rid of Chuckie, I'm out a guy. And since you're the reason for this I'm giving _you_ the position."

All I could do was stare at the far wall in shock. The Joker wanted me to join him? We've never even met! "What makes you think I want the position?"

He chuckled darkly. "What makes you think you have a _choice_?"

"We've never met. You know nothing about me, and I'm perfectly happy not working."

"Then I've just given you the per-fect opportunity for wor _k_!"

I sighed, but really, was I ever going to say no. "What do you need boss-man?"

He oo'ed. "Boss Man? That's a new one." It pleased me to hear him say that. "I don't need you for anything right now. When I do _I'll call_. Don't. Hang. Up." The line went dead, signaling he hung up on me. Pulling the phone away I stared until a smile threatened to tear my face in half. I should probably be worried The Joker was making me work for him, but couldn't feel anything less than thrilled.


	6. Chapter 6

The Joker never called me again. I didn't bother trying to call him, so I went through the day as I usually did. Sit in the library during the day then kill people at night. I kept my kill limit to one a night. Staying out longer than that was asking for Batman to find me even if most of his focus was set on The Joker.

I made sure to stay caught up with the news after my run-in with James. He seemed to have kept his word about not giving any details about me. The papers still thought I was a man.

Reading the papers helped me stay caught up with the antics of The Joker. A lot of random bombings happened that weren't shown in the Dark Knight movie. It's no wonder people called him the Clown Prince of Crime. Police had no chance of ever catching him and I knew he gave Batman a hard time as well.

Gotham buzzed when Harvey Dent announced on tv that he was Batman. I laughed at that one. How could anyone believe that? It's ridiculous, yet everybody buys it. Dent gets arrested and from what I know, along with some information from the papers, The Joker chases the truck they carried Dent in.

Bruce saves his life as Batman. At least he had the decency not to let Joker kill Dent for misplaced identity. I wondered why he let Harvey take the fall for being Batman. I remembered something about a press conference where Dent blurted out it was him, but why let it happen instead of intervene?

The morning after the "Dent is Batman" fiasco I entered the library and the first thing I always did was grab a newspaper. There was a lot of news that morning. Front page explained how The Joker blew up the station and escaped. Second page proclaimed James Gordon's miraculous return to the living and getting promoted to Commissioner. Then Rachel Dawes was added to the obituary as yet another victim of The Jokers schemes.

Unable to resist I hid in the bathroom where the cameras wouldn't see me. Once inside I pulled my iPhone from my sweater pocket then pulled out the phone I'd taken from Chuck. Scrolling through the contacts I added the number I knew to be Joker's onto the iPhone. The flip phone was way too dinosaur for me. The picture quality sucked and texting took forever.

Grabbing each side of the flip phone I smashed it down on my knee and broke it. I threw it in the trash then tapped "send message" under my new Boss Man contact.

 _You made the front page_. Pressing send I slipped the phone into my pocket and went back into the library for my daily reading time.

My phone vibrated continuously, letting me know I had a call. I didn't want people to see the phone considering it won't be invented for close to ten years. Unfortunately there's only one person who would call me and I had to answer.

When I held the phone up to my ear I covered my hand with my sweater sleeve then held it over the back of the phone so nobody would see it. "Hmm?"

"Who is this."

My eyebrow twitched in surprise. "Me, Boss Man."

" _Ooh_. Little miss _No_ body. What, uh, happened to the other phone? Not good enough for ya?"

"Hated it." I said honestly. "This ones easier."

"So you just though _t_ you could, heh, switch phones?" He definitely sounded angry now.

"Obviously." I said without fear. "Why'd you call?" Not wanting to stay in the library any longer I left and began walking in the direction of a nearby café.

"Because _somebody_ sent me a message. I thought you gave my number to a stranger, and tha _t_ wouldn't have been good for you, sweet cheeks."

I shrugged even though he couldn't see it. "Nobody to give your number to." I had a question for him. "Why'd you believe Dent?"

"Why should I, uh, tell _you_?"

"It's obvious he's not Batman."

I heard his high pitched giggling. "Ap-parent-ly _not_. Everybody in the city believed him. _Why didn't you?_ "

I only hummed. I didn't want to tell him I knew who the real Batman was because that would get me put in some deep trouble with someone who isn't afraid to kill me. "Your ace in the hole won't last."

The line went silent for so long I had to hold the phone away from my ear to check if he hung up or not. He didn't. " _Oh_?" The Joker had a hard edge to his voice that demanded I tell him what I meant or I'd be facing consequences.

"Dent." The closer I got to the Narrows the less I wanted to have my phone out. "Talk to you later, yeah?"

"Uh, _nooo_." His voice kept me from hanging up. "Now that I've go _t_ you, I need a _favor_."

"Sure." I felt pretty excited that The Joker would need my help with something. A feeling that had me questioning my sanity not for the first time.

"I'd like to _meet_ you. Get to know who's working for me, you know?"

For the first time since my parents died I felt dread coil in h stomach. What if we met and I didn't meet his standards? Did he even have standards? "Where?" My voice was hoarse.

"Now, now, no need to be _nervous_. It's just a mee _t_ and gree _t_."

Taking a deep breath I let it out slowly and nodded to myself. "Fine. When?"

He choked on his laughter. " _Eager_ are we? In a few days, cupcake. Boss is busy." I had no idea what he found so funny so I ignored his guffaws and put away my phone after he hung up.

Scenario after scenario played through my mind. When were we going to meet? Where? Would he kill me the second I came within arms reach? I dreaded the meeting while feeling anxious for the day to come quickly.

Later that night I cornered some drunk idiot and slit his throat before carving my signature smiley face. It got my mind off of The Joker for a few minutes, and I was grateful for it. The man also had some cash. Enough for me to buy shampoo from the store. The kind that can go into your hair without getting it wet. Old warehouses and shops didn't always have a running shower. Or water at all.

I didn't know what to do with myself. The usual routine of reading in the library then killing someone before bed slowly started loosing its appeal. It's what made me decide to change things up a bit. I still read the newspaper in the library, but when I finished I would leave to explore the city.

Why I hadn't done that in the first place I'll never know. Gotham was filled with so many interesting things. An art museum I planned on visiting one of these days. If I could save up the money for it. The skyscrapers were so much cleaner than the dirt covered and dilapidated buildings in the Narrows.

My new found interest in exploring is also how I stumbled across the busy parking lot of Gotham General. Patients were being removed from the hospital and loaded onto buses. I jumped into the fray, dodging through the frantic crowd to try and find someone who could tell me what was going on.

I found a doctor and latched onto his arm. He turned to me and nodded determinedly. "Good. I needed some help." The man roped me into helping him load bedridden patients onto a bus. I never did find out what all the hubbub was about.

When a lull in patients came I snuck onto the found and sat in the drivers seat when I couldn't find a normal one to sit in. I listened to the frantic conversations going on between the nurses, doctors, and lucid patients. Apparently The Joker had something to do with all the craziness. I should have known. The movie involved him and some hospital. I couldn't remember which, just that it was one of the hospitals in the city.

A loud explosion caused people on the bus to scream in surprise. We all looked out the window to see part of the hospital getting blown to bits. After a few moments more explosions shook the ground and Gotham General came crashing to the ground.

The screams of surprise turned into screams of terror. I looked in the direction of the screams to see a man with green dyed hair with his fave covered in white, red, and black hurrying down the aisle of the bus. My eyes widened and I think my heart skipped a beat.

The Joker. He was here. On the same bus I was and heading straight towards me.

I had wondered what would happen when we first met each other. If I would continue to love him like a fangirl or be so terrified I'd want nothing more to do with him.

My thoughts distracted me until I heard a nasally voice come from right in front of me. "That's my seat."

A hand grabbed my arm and shirt collar then yanked me out of the drivers seat. Joker pushed me unceremoniously to the floor and I fell down the three hard stairs. My body hit the doors, preventing me from falling out of the bus. I closed my eyes to try and wish away the pain while my ears picked up on the panicking people further inside the bus.

Joker ignored all this as he started up the bus and began driving it to who knows where. Not once did he take his eyes off the road to look at the burning building he'd left behind.

From my place on the bottom step I did my best to make myself comfortable. The Joker kept giggling and muttering things under his breath while sudden shouts from further down the bus caused the passengers to quiet down. I couldn't see from where I was sitting, but someone was definitely threatening to shoot people if they didn't shut up.

I stayed huddled on the stairs. Occasionally glancing up at The Joker in amazement. His scars weren't as gruesome as I had imagined them to be. It was almost a disappointment.

Of course my scrutiny didn't go unnoticed. "Have I, uh, got something on my _face_?"

His voice sounded a lot deeper in person. "Make-up."

I watched his scars stretch as his mouth widened into a beaming smile. "Not polite to s _tare_."

"Sorry." I turned my head to look out the bus doors. Joker didn't say anything more so I chose to ignore him until we reached our destination. Wherever that was.

A voice that didn't belong to The Joker startled me. "Hey!" Whipping my head to look up the stairs I saw a burly man with a clown mask covering his face. He had a gun pointed at my head. "What do you think your doing?!"

I blinked in shock before clearing my throat. "Sitting?"

Joker laughed at my response. "She's got _spunk_ , dontcha think?"

The man immediately lost all his bravado when he heard his boss' voice. "Uh, y–yeah boss. Very…spunky."

Joker slammed on the brakes, causing everyone in the bus to lurch forward. I lost my seat on the stairs and hit my head on the doors. The man lost his footing and fell down the stairs. He would have landed in top of me had I not been pressed so far against the corner.

His head slammed against the edge of the stairs. He went completely limp while the gun sat at an awkward angle pointing straight at me.

Not wanting to get shot I moved my body further up the stairs so the gun wouldn't accidentally go off and kill me. I took out my knife and cut the guns strap around the man's shoulders. When I was released I eased it from underneath him until it was safely in my arms.

Maybe not safely considering I'd never held a gun before.

The bus doors suddenly opened. My head shot up to stare at them in confusion. "Can't find good help these days." The owner of the deep, nasally voice yanked the gun away from me and I looked up to meet Joker's black eyes. "C'mon, toots!"

His bare hand latched onto my left forearm and he dragged me out of the bus. I heard yelling and screaming from the other passengers, but I opted to stay silent. Something I was good at. Instead I stared at the tall building that looked like it was under construction.

"You're gonna work with Bob here." My body was pushed against a taller, lankier one. "Bob" was wearing a doctors coat that looked like he'd taken it from the trembling man with his hands duct taped around a toy machine gun.

I didn't see what happened to The Joker as Bob dragged me closer to a black van parked nearby. All the other doctors were there and were given the same treatment as I was. Duct tape across our mouths, a clown mask to cover our face, and a toy gun taped between our hands. Joker's goons grabbed real guns while putting on the doctors coats.

Groups of us were placed in random parts of the building, close to the windows. The goons made sure to rough us up enough to make us scared enough not to try escaping. If we did they'd shoot us.

I stood in front of a large window with three others. Their hands shook with nerves as they looked between each other and the city. I, on the other hand, stood calmly. I knew Batman would come and save the building then stop The Joker. I could see two ferry boats out in the distance. As soon as they reached one another their lights flickered before both boats stopped.

Five or so minutes later small red dots appeared on my chest. I looked at the moving dots in confusion then at the others to see they had the same thing. If anything the lights made them shake even more.

Outside I could see cops all over the place. They must have been the ones pointing guns at us. From that distance our guns would look real, and the clown masks made us look like we worked for Joker. I hoped they would ask questions shoot later.

Something dark came hurtling towards our window. I stared at it uncomprehendingly until I realized…it was Batman…and he was flying straight for me.

His cape snapped away so he could fit through the window frame. His body slammed against mine, and the two of us were propelled further back into the room. I groaned in pain when the two of us finally came to a stop. Why he have to tackle me?

The gravelly voice that belonged to none other than Batman came from above me. I looked through the eye holes of the mask to see his eyes were replaced with some weird blue lights. He kept looking in different directions, seemingly forgetting about me, until the lights finally flickered off.

A kevlar gloved hand grabbed the chin of the mask and ripped it from my head. Not really knowing what to do I sat there and waited. "Fox, the S.W.A.T.s are targeting the wrong people. The clowns are the hostages."

There was an explosion somewhere above us. The two of us glanced up before looking at each other. "Don't move." I nodded and Batman stood up and shot some sort of line at the other hostages. When he yanked the line the three of them went down at the same time a gunshot shattered the window they'd been standing in front of.

Taking Batman's advice to heart I sat up and stayed exactly where he left me. I heard a lot of shouting and gunshots coming from somewhere in the building.

The other hostages and I sat there for who knows how long before a S.W.A.T. team came running towards us. They weren't holding any guns, and I was the first one they reached. Two stayed with me while the other three went to the other hostages.

The tape was slowly removed from my mouth and they helped me stand up. "You're safe now." I nodded in acknowledgment despite the fact I had felt safe the entire time.

Down on the pavement the hostages were reunited with their crying family members. I watched from the sidelines with a wistful smile. I wished my parents had an ounce of compassion that these people had. Unfortunately they didn't, and they were dead, and I was alone.

Knowing this I slowly backed away from the reunions. Nobody noticed the seventeen year old girl slowly backing away. Maybe eighteen. My parents never celebrated my birthday, but from vague memories I knew it was in the summer. It's possible it passed already, so I decided I would be eighteen. A legal adult.

A group of S.W.A.T. emerged from the building. In the middle of them was The Joker figure dressed in his purple attire. His arms were cuffed behind his back while the officers kept a firm hold on his arms. They still looked terrified, and I gave them props for finding the guts to touch him.

A hand gently grabbed onto my arm. I jumped a little and followed the arm to see a cop giving me a concerned look. "Where's your family, kid?"

I gently tried to pull out of his grip, but he wouldn't let go. "Don't have one."

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

The man gave me a doubtful look. "Why don't you come down to the station with me." Without waiting for me to answer he started pulling me towards the cop cars.

The closer we got to the car the more I struggled. I couldn't go to the police station or else they might find out I was T. The fact an officer had his hands on me, a murderer, without knowing it was not lost on me.

When he let go to help me into the back of the cop car I wrenched myself away and bolted back into the crowd. He shouted after me, but I ignored him. Nobody else bothered trying to contact me while I escaped further into the city to return to the Narrows.


	7. Chapter 7

Living in the Narrows became much more dangerous now that Joker was locked up in Arkham. The fear of him suddenly popping up behind you and carving a smile into your face disappeared. It made me a lot more cautious every time I left my warehouse to kill someone.

Another problem I faced was the rapidly cooling temperature. Gotham was always rather cold since the pollution blocked out the sun. Now with autumn ending and winter approaching I knew I needed new clothes that could handle the weather. To accomplish this I needed quite a bit of money.

With one last swipe of my knife I finished off my latest victim. I contemplated taking his sweater, but decided against it. I needed a winter jacket along with several other things. After months of wearing the same minimal articles of clothes without a proper washing machine they were getting a permanent smell of sweat and body odor. Not to mention I think I grew an inch while dropping a waist size.

It was currently night time in Gotham, so I had to wait for morning before I could go shopping. Before sleeping through the rest of the night I played sudoku–a game I'm quickly becoming a pro at with how many times I've played it. I slowly fell asleep on the ratty couch that came with the abandoned building. The first floor was completely bare with boarded up windows and doors, but the second floor was like a loft. A similar hideout to my last one.

The alarm is set for eight the next morning was what woke me up. I grumbled irritably but forced myself into a sitting position. I began falling asleep but the alarm went off again.

I snatched the phones with a growl and turned the alarm off. Grabbing my drawstring from the floor I dumped everything out in front of me. I always did this before leaving a hideout to make sure I had everything with me. It also allowed the money not in my pockets to spill out.

Picking up the bills I could see I joined them with the small wad of cash I kept in my sweater. For meals I would buy a bag of apples from the store and have one a day. It was cheap and helped me save up my current total of three hundred seventy four dollars. The chunk of money I'd taken from Chuck, the Jokers henchmen I killed, were three one hundreds and two twenties. I still had all of it while the money I collected from my victims paid for food.

Carefully placing everything back inside the drawstring I swing it across my back. As I crawled out of the only opening large enough for me to get in and out of my hideout I pondered. Besides the bracelet I gave to the woman on my first night in Gotham, I still had all my jewelry.

Between the bracelets, necklaces, and earrings I figured it best to sell all of the earrings. I always kept one pair in my ears but never bothered with the others. The money I could get with those would last me the entire winter. At least through the coldest months. I don't want to go out in the frostbite inducing cold if I could be inside a warm hotel room. Added bonus of a shower and tv.

I always hated the cold. There's a chance I'll forgo killing people just to avoid the weather. A small possibility but a possibility nonetheless.

My decision was made the second I walked into the supermarket. I'd sell the earrings and use that money to buy a hotel room the day it starts snowing until I either run out of money or it stops snowing.

While browsing through the aisles I could feel people giving me odd looks. No doubt because of my shabby clothes, bad smell, and dirty hair. I ignored all of them as I grabbed a pair of black sweatpants, a baggy black sweatshirt, a pack of underwear, a new bra, and a long sleeved shirt. Looking down at my worn purple converse I decided to get a pair of boots with fur on the inside and fake leather on the outside. The last items I grabbed were deodorant, toothpaste, and a red backpack. It would be a lot easier to carry things in that then the drawstring.

The cashier rung everything up while staring at me disdainfully the entire time. She at least kept her mouth shut during the encounter.

Not wanting to be inside the store any longer than necessary I waited until I was outside before shoving everything I'd bought into the backpack. I put it on my shoulders first then the drawstring second. It rested easily on top of the backpack. I would organize it all later.

Adjusting the straps to get more comfortable I started walking forward. I glanced around just to make sure I didn't get hit by a car when I spotted an elderly man. He was holding his groceries that looked just a little too heavy for him to carry alone. Looking around I wondered if anyone would help him out, but nobody else even noticed.

Sighing with disgust towards the human race I quickly made my way towards the man. I tapped his shoulder to get his attention. When he looked at me I gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but would like some help with your bags?"

He shook his head. "I couldn't ask you to do that, miss."

Somehow his British accent made me want to help him even more. "That's alright. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to help." Reaching out I grabbed few of the bags from his hand. I pulled back slowly in case he decided not to let me help, but he let them go.

Looking down I smiled softly to myself. It felt good to know this man trusted me enough not to run off with his groceries. In this city I wouldn't be surprised if that actually happened to people. Luckily for this man I wasn't one of those people.

"This is my car here." He stopped in front of a sleek black car. It looked like a mini limousine. My eyebrows rose in surprise, but I didn't say anything about it. Whoever this man was he had money.

"Can you open the trunk or do you need me to take more bags?"

The man shook his head. "I can get it, miss. Thank you." He transferred the bags he was still holding onto his right hand and pulled out his car keys with his left. The trunk popped open and he eased the groceries inside. When they were secure the man turned to me with a kind smile. "Thank you again, my dear. What was your name again?"

I readily handed over the bags so he could put them away, but I hesitated with my name. In the end I found no reason to lie. "Tina."

"A beautiful name, miss Tina."

His response made me giggle. I had never laughed before in my entire life. At least not since I could remember. "Just Tina is fine. And your name?"

"Alfred–" a loud squeal cut off the rest of his sentence. We both whipped our heads around to look at what made the noise.

A silver car was swerving down the aisle. The driver barely missed hitting the other cars, but they had yet to regain control of the car. Remembering the bright flash of a semi's headlights made me tense. The closer the car came the more ready to bolt I felt. There was no sign of the car regaining control, and my flight instinct snapped.

The car took that moment to swerve right in our direction. My arm unconsciously latched onto Alfred's arm and I yanked him towards me. My adrenaline must have boosted my muscles because he went right passed me. I paid no attention to it as I used his momentum to push him forward to get the two of us away from the situation.

We didn't get far when the sound of breaking glass and metal against metal shot through our eardrums. I stopped running to look back. With Alfred's arm still in my grip it caused him to stop moving as well.

My eyes widened and jaw dropped while Alfred gasped behind me. The front of the silver car crushed the back of Alfred's little limo. The force of it pushed the limo forward so the front bumper had crashed into the car parked in the space in front of it. Had Alfred and I not moved we would have been sandwiched between those two cars. Severely injured and possibly lose our legs.

People noticed the commotion and came to investigate. Those who cared more ran over while others just circled around to talk with one another and whisper to their neighbor about what they think happened. All the people were starting to make me nervous, but I didn't want to leave Alfred alone just yet.

"Are you alright Alfred?"

The old man looked at me with surprise. "Of course." A large smile spread across his face. "You saved my life, Tina."

I cleared my throat uncomfortably. I've saved people's lives before, but that was always because I killed a man or woman to accomplish the act. People usually ran away in fear instead of sticking around to show gratitude. "It was nothing."

"No, no, you really did." Alfred gave my arm a pat. "If you hadn't been here I would still be in between those two cars." He nodded his head towards the area where the silver car met his black limo.

"Anybody would have done the same thing." I brushed off his gratitude to prevent myself from feeling any more awkward. Not to mention I felt like a fraud when he praised me for saving his life when I've taken so many.

Looking around I noticed some people dialing 911. Inhaling sharply I turned to Alfred with a strained smile. "It was wonderful meeting you Alfred–even if we did almost get run over, but I have to go now."

Alfred's eyes widened in surprise. I pushed my way through the crowd with Alfred trying to regain my attention. I ignored his attempts, and when I broke through the thick crowd I broke into a jog. Everybody was so focused on the accident they didn't notice me slipping away. A good thing because I had no desire to get on the police's radar. They would have gotten my name if I stayed, and that wouldn't have ended well since I didn't know if my name existed in this universe.

I bit worriedly at the skin on my lips. My entire walk through the city was filled with thoughts of the accident at the store. I didn't regret helping Alfred, but it put attention on me that I wasn't used to.

Walking into the library I took a deep breath and shook off my thoughts. So it happened. I saved a nice British man's life and that was that. Nothing would come from it: good or bad.

With my thoughts settled I could give a somewhat genuine smile to the librarian. "Could you tell me where the nearest jewelry shop is?" I figured I could sell the earrings there or the shop could tell me where I could do it.

The woman looked down her nose at me but answered anyway. "Closest jeweler is several blocks north."

I nodded slowly and cleared my throat. "And…which way is north?"

Her nostrils flared, making me cringe and mentally berate myself for being an idiot. "That way." She pointed directly behind me and I nodded thankfully.

Quickly scurrying from the building I contemplated killing her one night but ultimately decided against it. That would involve hunting her down and possibly breaking into her house. It just didn't seem worth it.

So I just kept walking north until I found a store with mannequins in the window pane wearing beautiful dresses with shining diamonds to perfectly complement them. Drawing myself up, as if that would make me look any better, I walked as confidently as I possibly as I could when surrounded by rich snobs.

I walked up to the closest clerk and gave him a smile to hopefully make him not turn me away. He seemed hesitant but asked, "Can I help you, miss?"

I'd never been called miss before and somehow today it was being tossed around like candy. "Do you…buy jewelry?" He looked confused so I elaborated. "I have some stones, you can check if they're real if you'd like, but would you be willing to buy them off of me? Or do I have to go somewhere else for that?"

The guy rose an eyebrow skeptically. "We do buy jewelry, yes."

I took out one of the earrings to find out how much it would get me. It was a pretty thing. Small hoop encrusted with white diamonds. I didn't want to take all the earrings out just yet. "How much would this get me?"

He plucked the earring from my hand to inspect it with some small black tube he held up to his eye. I didn't know how it worked but apparently it let the man know the diamonds were real. "If you have the set we would be able to pay…around $60 to $100."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "That's it?" The man nodded and I 'huh'ed. "Right. Thanks a lot." Taking back the earring I strode quickly out of the store. That price seemed cheap for that earring. Maybe it's because it was only 2009 and inflation was low. Or maybe I was expecting too much. Either way I would wait to see if I could find any better offers before selling.

With my day officially over I headed for the Narrows. The sun hadn't completely set so I used the minimal sunlight to help me find a new place to hide. It came to me in the form of a dingy building with broken and boarded up windows. The door was halfway off its hinges with one board nailed over it.

Examining the door I realized the door swings into the building, not out. Whoever put the board up wasn't the brightest. It took some effort to move the door, but eventually I got it open. To get inside I had to crawl under the board. Once in I forced the door back to its previous position.

Hiking up my bags I took out my phone to use the flashlight. As usual there was a bunch of garbage littering the floor, as well as dust, dirt, and what I hoped wasn't mold. Ignoring all of it I walked up to the third floor of what I'm now assuming to be an old apartment building. From what I could see I this place must not have been very fancy in the past. No wonder no body uses it now.

I choose the cleanest looking apartment on the top floor. There was a bed on the bedroom but nothin on the earth could get me to touch it, let alone sleep on it. The cleanest surface turned out to be the kitchen counter. I jumped onto the island and waited to see if it could hold my weight. When nothing bad happened I slipped the bags off my back and passed time organizing my new items before going out for my nightly rounds.


	8. Chapter 8

I managed to sell all of my earrings and a few bracelets for a reasonable price. The woman owned a jewelry store near the outskirts of Gotham near the Narrows. She seemed happy to get my diamonds since they were in such good shape. With the money she gave me I could get a place to stay for the winter.

The money couldn't have come at a better time. Mid-November snow began falling. Streets became slippery and slush piled up on the sides of the road.

I needed to make sure my money would last me. That meant I couldn't splurge it on a nice hotel. I found a seedy place deep in the Narrows for only forty two dollars a week. For six dollars a day I wondered how the place hadn't closed down yet. All the mold, cracked walls, water damage, and ripped floors would've been enough to condemn any place, but health inspectors probably avoided the Narrows like any sane person would.

Usually I changed hideouts every couple weeks. With the cold setting in I didn't want to stay somewhere that didn't have heating. With a hotel this cheap I had just enough to last till spring.

My inability to move didn't stop me from killing people. It put me on edge because with the Joker in Arkham I managed to put myself in the most wanted position. The mob was wanted too, but as one person I made an easier target. I promised myself if Batman ever caught me I would go willingly. No way would I try to take on a man trained to be a ninja.

Every time I returned to my hotel room I felt relieved. I managed to make it through one more night without getting caught. I knew it was only a matter of time before the police or Batman caught me.

What I hadn't counted on was a regular Gotham citizen to discover me first. Second considering Gordon Jr., but I hadn't heard or seen him since his father "died" months ago.

Snow completely covered the ground on the night someone found me. The wind made the air even colder. My lack of a warm jacket made me question whether I would go out that night, but I hadn't missed a night since appearing in Gotham and I wasn't going to let some cold weather stop me.

Walking in the alleys between buildings helped lessen the cold. I wasn't the only one who planned on using the buildings for protection.

A man I knew to be drunk by the way he stumbled over the flat ground came towards me from the opposite end of the alley. I walked casually while keeping a close eye on him from beneath my hoodie. Young, early twenties maybe, and probably on his way home from a night of partying.

Unfortunately for him he wouldn't make it out of the alley.

As soon as he stumbled past me I swung around to stand directly behind him. I used my left hand to grab the hair at the top of his hair and yank him down. I held my knife in my right hand. With a practiced flick of my wrist the blade swung out of the handle and I easily dragged it across the man's exposed neck.

His drunk state made his reaction to the wound slower. Eventually he stumbled onto his knees without my hand holding him up. He pressed a hand against his neck, and when it finally clicked it had been slit his hazy mind cleared and he tried to stop the bleeding. Just like all my other victims his attempt to live failed, and he collapsed onto his front.

I stared at the blood slowly spreading over the white snow. The beautiful contrast made me smile.

Before I could leave the scene I kneeled over him and cut open his shirt. His back had a few freckles on it, but otherwise it was perfectly smooth. I ruined it by drawing two circles for eyes, gashes for eyebrows and another for a smile. Then some curved cuts for the nose and tongue. Under it I put my signature "–T".

As I made my way back down the alley to get to my hotel something behind me gained my attention. Turning around I saw someone standing above the man I just killed.

My entire body froze while I stared at the boy. He slowly lifted his head, and when he spotted me his eyes widened and previously rosy cheeks drained of all color.

My brain kicked into overdrive the next second. I whirled around and sprinted for the end of the alley. The boy shouted unintelligibly, then I heard, "Wait!"

The wind from running caused my hood to blow back. While that made my face visible I could also look back without anything restricting my vision. That's how I saw the boy decided to chase after me. Seeing that made me attempt to run even faster. The elements, however, were not on my side. My foot hit some snow covered ice and I sliding over the slippery cement until I finally lost my balance and landed on my back. All the air in my lungs whooshed out, leaving me sprawled out trying desperately to get my breathing back under control.

While laying there the boy easily caught up to me. I saw him slip a little over the snow, but thankfully he didn't fall on me.

For a while the boy just stood there staring at me. He had a look of disbelief while I clenched my teeth and glared at him. He started chewing on his bottom lip and I curled my upper lip in distaste. I didn't want to kill him, but I would if I had to.

"You're…" his voice trailed off. It was pretty deep even though he must have been only a year or so older than I was. Definitely younger than the guy I killed.

Once I got my breathing under control I rumbled out. "I'm what?"

He watched me get to my feet with wide, wary eyes. He had a good two inches on me, but still backed up when I came to my full height. "You're…" his eyebrows furrowed, "a girl."

I slowly put my hands in the pocket of my hoodie. It was meant to be casual, but the boy watched the action with fear. My right hand curled against the handle of my knife in preparation for a second kill. If it came to that it would be the first time I killed two people in one night. I told myself there's a first time for everything.

"What's wrong with being a girl?"

I noticed his hands, balled up into fists at his sides, start shaking. Without taking his eyes off my pocket he said, "Everyone thinks you're a man."

"Oh?" I watched his throat move from a thick swallow. "And just who am I?"

His blue eyes flicked up to my grey. "You're T."

My lips twitched into a small smile. It felt pretty good knowing my signature was now widely known.

The boy saw my smile and blanched. It seemed no matter what I did he wouldn't relax around me. "I n–need your help."

I snorted. "You need…my help?" My expression morphed into a smirk. "I only help people move on to the afterlife."

He swallowed again before it got caught in his throat and he started coughing. I watched him try to force the coughs to go away, and I rolled my eyes. "Let it out kid, it'll only get worse if you don't."

After saying that the boy gave three good coughs then cleared his throat. "Sorry about that."

I huffed through my nose. "Why are you apologizing for a cough?"

For several seconds he scramble to find an answer he thought I would find suitable. I turned around and started walking away before he could find one.

"Hey, wait!" I heard him jog to catch up with me but I didn't bother turning around. Only when his hand touched my shoulder did I spin around with my right arm extended towards his neck. I held my knife up to his neck with the blade resting lightly against his skin. "Don't. Touch. Me."

He held up his hands, and despite the freezing weather he had light perspiration along his hairline. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I won't do it again, please!"

I slowly moved the knife away from his neck. The further it got the more relaxed he became. When it disappeared back into my pocket he sighed in relief. "I'm sorry for touching you, but I need your help."

"Help with what?" I started walking in the vague direction of my hotel. I didn't want to go there for him to see where I lived, but I also wanted to get out of the cold. "You need somebody dead? I don't take on jobs kid, I just kill the first person I come across."

He started walking alongside me. "Well it's not about killing someone. Not technically anyway."

I snorted. "You want to hire a killer to not kill people?" I glanced at him from the corner of my eye.

"No, I mean, there might be killing involved, it's just, um–"

"Spit it out!" His struggle to complete the sentence bothered me. "What exactly are you planning on doing?" When no immediate response came I chuckled. "I'm not going to help you if I don't know what I'd be doing."

"I want to break out The Joker."

I immediately stopped walking and laughed in disbelief. "Excuse you? I don't think I heard right. You want to get The Joker out of Arkham?"

He nodded, looking unsure after seeing my reaction. "I wanted to work for him, but they tossed him into Arkham before I got the chance."

"You want to break him out of Arkham just to work for him?" I gave him a questioning look. "Why not just do your own thing?"

He looked at me with the utmost sincerity. "Because nobody can inspire fear like he can."

I nodded slowly without breaking eye contact. The Joker definitely scared people in a way nobody else could. Like the physical representation of a child between death and the boogeyman. Also smart enough to successfully pull off his stunts. "Who else is helping you?"

He licked his lips uncertainly. "Nobody?"

My eyebrows rose. Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling." He said quickly. "It's just me so far. I asked a few guys I knew worked for Joker, but they wanted nothing to do with it."

I sighed heavily and mumbled, "Smart guys." I continued loud enough for him to hear. "Why shouldn't I turn you in?"

He look at me with wide eyes. "Turn me in?"

I hummed. "Tell the police you plan on breaking out The Joker. No doubt they'd arrest and question you." I gave him a sly smirk. "Are you a good liar, kid?"

After floundering for a response he finally said, "If you turned me in I would turn you in."

I scoffed. "What makes you think I care if they know about me?" In all honesty I didn't care if the police found out who I was.

My question managed to silence the boy. The closer we got to the hotel the more anxious I felt. In the end I gave in, partially because I wanted him to go away and also because it sounded interesting. "I'll help you."

He gasped. "Really?"

"Yeah. You got a phone number?"

"Uh yeah," he said the number three times and I continuously repeated it in my head to make sure I didn't forget it. "My name's Michael."

"Yeah sure. If I don't text you it means I forgot you're number. Should that happen meet me at the public library."

Michael nodded and started walking back the way we came. I watched him go for a few moments, noticing he had a slight spring in his step, and sighed. Hopefully this operation wouldn't end in disaster. While I didn't mind if the police knew who I was that didn't mean I wanted to get thrown in prison.


	9. Chapter 9

Michael and I met in a café outside of the Narrows. I wanted to try a latte, both to see what they tasted like and to warm up, but I didn't want to waste money when I didn't have to. The fact I only had my sweater to keep me warm made it worse. While in the café I decided to keep my hood down, and Michael already knew what I looked like.

"So…" I rose an eyebrow but didn't raise my eyes from the free cup of water the lady gave me, "how are we gonna do this?"

His question made me look up to give him a crazy look. "This was your idea, dumbass. Your idea, you make the plans."

Michael sighed. "Joker doesn't make plans."

I scoffed. "I'm pretty sure his plans have plans. There's no way he gets out of every situation by sheer luck."

"Right, well," he fidgeted uncomfortably and took a sip of his coffee. No sugar or milk, just straight black. "Um…"

"Oh my god," I shoved my water to the side and leaned forward. My closer proximity made Michael lean backwards. "How are we getting into Arkham? That should be the first thing we figure out."

Michael fumbled with his backpack and pulled out a laptop. I drummed my fingers on the table top as he nervously logged on. His fear amused me. Nobody had ever been afraid of me before. I was always the one cowering from others. Being the one in power felt pretty good.

"My friend," he turned the computer screen towards me, "hacked into Arkham's systems."

I examined the screen and realized it was some sort of live camera feed. "So we can see who's walking through the halls at all times."

"Right, and, um…" I looked at him with raised eyebrows, waiting for him to finish his sentence, "We thought you could go into Arkham and get him out."

My eyes darkened in anger. "'We'? You mean you and someone else? You told somebody else about my involvement? What gave you the idea I would be okay with that?"

His eyes widened fearfully. "Nothing! He w–was helping me come up with i–ideas for getting inside. Your name just came up."

"'Just came up'?" I sneered. "Stupid boy." I may not have cared about people finding out more about me, but that didn't mean I wanted it to happen. "I really should just kill you."

Michael paled. "P–Please no. He won't say anything. He promised me he wouldn't tell another soul."

"Because that makes me feel loads better." I growled and rubbed my temples. "What's his name?"

He bit his lip uncertainly but eventually caved under my glare. "Joshua Fields."

"And is Joshua your hacker?"

Michael swallowed audibly. "Yes."

"He comes with us to Arkham. How am I getting into the building?"

Michael sighed in relief, thinking his friend would be safe from me murdering him. "He's going to print you a visitors pass. Once your inside we'll guide you using this," he dug into one of his bags pockets and pulled out a small black ear piece. "We give you directions to the Jokers cell, warn you when guards are near, and open any locked doors."

I took the ear piece with pursed lips. "When are we doing this?"

He smiled at my silent acceptance of their plan. "Thursday afternoon."

I gave him a crazy look. "Why?"

Michael shrugged. "Noon is everyone's lunch break. The inmates and most of the guards will be in the cafeteria."

"Will the Joker be in the cafeteria?"

He shook his head. "He would go down at around one. It gives us about an hour to work with."

I nodded thoughtfully. "I'll be here at eleven on Thursday. You and your friend will pick me up, then we'll go to Arkham. If we get caught I will blame you for everything."

"I can just tell them you're T."

I sneered threateningly. "You'd best remember who the real threat is between us. Perhaps you need a reminder? I've never targeted a specific person before, but I'm sure Joshua won't mind." Michael lost his haughty look. "Perhaps you have family as well?" The blood drained from his face.

"I–I was just joking. Ha ha. I wouldn't tell anyone about you."

"Shut up." Michael immediately shut his mouth. I stood from my seat and pulled on my drawstring. "Remember. Eleven o'clock."

After my conversation with Michael I needed to let off some steam. At only five in the evening it was a little early for my usual killing spree, but I didn't care. It wasn't like I had a schedule for killing people.

One woman was unlucky enough to walk past the alleyway I was hiding in. I grabbed her arm and yanked her towards me. The force sent her stumbling to the ground. Her purse and its contents fell to the ground and spilled everywhere. I pressed my hand to her mouth to keep her from screaming.

"Sorry lady." Her eyes were wide with terror. They filled with tears and she shook her head frantically. I ignored her distress as I pulled out my pocket knife and held it to her throat. "Should've stayed home today." One firm drag across her throat easily split the skin. Blood coated the blade and pooled on the asphalt beneath her neck.

I kept my hand on her mouth and watched her eyes slowly turn dull and lifeless. Her body stopped struggling against me, and I could remove my hand without worrying about her screaming for help. I crouched over her body so the growing puddle of blood would only stain my shoes, not my pants.

Working quickly I cut open her blouse and made a sloppy smiley face on her stomach. As soon as I finished I shot up and strode down the alley. It all happened right near the opening of the alley, and while the sun was going down it was still too bright out for my tastes. Hopefully nobody saw the little escapade. It would be a shame to get caught now before breaking Joker out of Arkham.

Later that night, around the time I usually went out to kill people, I contemplated going out again. I'd already killed someone that day. It felt weird sitting in the hotel room and not killing someone, which meant I was falling into a routine. Instead of getting up to continue the routine I remained inside for another three hours. It wouldn't do to get predictable.

The days leading up to Thursday seemed to last forever. Even going out to find my next victim got boring. With temperatures near freezing I couldn't take walks around the city. All I had was the crappy tv in my hotel room that only got four channels. I left it on the news so I could hear the stories they said about me.

They seemed worried about my unusual behavior. I killed two people in one day, which was out of character for me, sending the city into a near panic. You'd think I blew up the mayors office. I changed up my routine a little and everyone panicked. I wondered how they'll react if they find out I played a part in the Jokers escape.

My iPhone charger decided to stop working on Wednesday. I had to preserve the battery on the phone so I could use it as an alarm. I mourned the loss of the phone, but knew it would happen eventually. Perhaps one day I would steal an iPod and some headphones and listen to music.

On Thursday morning I put my phone, the charger, and all of my money into the drawstring. I always kept the valuable items with me while I left my clothes and hygiene products in the hotel room.

At eleven o'clock, on the dot, Michael and his friend Joshua picked my up from the café. Joshua sat in the passenger seat hugging a laptop to his chest. I felt his wide eyed stare drilling holes in the back of my head.

Tired of the constant attention I turned in my seat and gave him a fake smile. The boy flinched when faced with all of my attention. "Hello Joshua Fields."

He gulped. "H–Hi."

I would never get over the fear these boys had for me when I was clearly younger than them by at least two years. I wondered if everyone would react that way if they met me. "You seem nervous. Don't worry I'm not going to kill you." Turning back around in my seat I stopped halfway and threw him a side-glance. "Today."

Joshua made a pained noise that amused me to no end. Michael sent me a disapproving glance, but when I gave him a challenging look of my own he returned his attention to the road without comment.

Once we reached Arkham Michael parked the car in a secluded area facing the road we'd use to drive away if we were successful. In the back seat Joshua logged onto his computer with shaking fingers. The click clack of computer keys was the only sound in the car.

"Um," Joshua cleared his throat, "Mike and I are going to communicate with you using the earpiece we gave you."

I nodded. "I know that. Just tell me h ow to get in."

He nodded rapidly and pulled a laminated card out of his back pocket. I took it from him and looked it over. It just said "VISITOR: T" with a barcode underneath.

My eyes closed as I sighed. "You guys do realize this little mission of ours is basically going to out me to all of Gotham?" Putting on the keycard is basically just me pinning on my name for everyone to see.

Michael and Joshua both paled, but I waved them off. "Fuck it, whatever. Not like it matters." I technically wasn't born in this world so hopefully face recognition wouldn't work. Even if it did they would find a different Tina Hems instead of me.

Digging through my drawstring I found the small piece of plastic and shoved it in my ear. "Do I need to turn it on or something?"

Michael shook his head. "Josh will turn it on with the computer."

That was all the information I needed. Without further ado I stepped out of the old green Pontiac and sauntered towards the asylum. The plastic in my ear crackled to life, Michaels voice coming through from the other end. _"What are you doing?!"_

I rose an eyebrow even though he couldn't see it. "I'm going to break out the Joker, like we planned remember?"

 _"Well, uh, right, fine. You have a weapon, right?"_

I rolled my eyes skyward to ask whatever being who was listening for patience. "Yes. Please explain how I became the muscle of this group?" As a thin eighteen year old girl I wasn't exactly muscle material.

 _"Nobody would expect you. You're more the element of surprise than muscle."_

It made sense. Nobody would suspect me as a notorious serial killer. The pass they gave me had the name, but you'd need to be fairly close to read it. "Alright. Is there anything spectacular I need to do? Kill every guard in sight?"

 _"No, we're planning on avoiding them as best we can."_

"And if I can't I kill them?"

There was a hesitant pause. _"…Yes."_

I walked confidently through the front door. I lowered my voice to a whisper. "You need to get used to murder if you want to work for a man like the Joker." When I finished talking I smiled brightly at the lady sitting behind the front desk. "Hello."

She gave a practiced smile back. "Hi, how can I help you?"

Not really knowing how else to answer I tapped my visitors pass. "I'm here to see a, uh, cousin of mine."

 _"Cousin?"_

Ignoring Michael's voice in my ear I watched the woman start typing something on her computer. "What's your cousins name?"

My lips twitched. "Jack Napier." I didn't actually know if it was his real name, but it was the first one to come to mind.

 _"What are you doing?! You need to get past her!"_

I mentally thanked him for being captain obvious.

Reaching into my sweater pocket I grasped the handle of my knife. I pinched the handle to unlock the two inch blade. Said blade swung out of the handle with a practiced flick of my wrist. The woman was too absorbed in her computer screen to see me leaning over the edge of the desk.

Michael's worried voice filtered into my ear. _"What are you doing?"_

I tilted my head and smirked. "Just taking care of a problem."

She looked up from her computer with a confused look. Before she could ask who I talked to I lunged across the desk to grab her scrubs with my left hand. I yanked her towards me so I could stab my knife into her neck without having to reach across the desk.

The woman choked on a gasp. Her hands weakly struggled against my hands and my grip on her shirt. With a little force I ripped the knife from one end of her neck to the other.

When I let her go she dropped onto the desk with a thud. Her blood soaked several sheets of papers before her body slipped to the floor. Glancing around to make sure nobody was around I snuck around the desk and started ripping off her shirt.

 _"You killed her."_

I grunted in acknowledgment to Michaels statement. I found it cute how stand of fish he was towards killing, yet he wanted to work for the Joker. "People die all the time, I just speed up the process."

 _"I suppose that's one way to look at it."_ Disgust was evident in his tone.

The newly carved smile on the woman's side dripped blood. I stared at the rivulets until Michaels voice broke through. _"Guard headed your way!"_

Staying crouched near the ground I crawled over to the end of the desk. I peaked my head out very slowly, and when I spotted a man in a black police uniform I quickly ducked back down.

 _"Are you gonna kill this one too?"_

His question was sarcastic but I nodded anyway. The man would see the bloody desk, and when he went to investigate he'd find me.

I ignored the judgmental silence and waited for Michael's cue for me to get up and launch myself at the guard. With the element of surprise on my side I was able to stab him in the head with no resistance. My usual M.O. involved slitting throats, but needs must.

Usually I tried spending a little time on my smiley faces so they would look somewhat artistic. Time was against me at the moment, so I had to rush it. Thankfully I had enough practice carving up dead bodies so it didn't look horrible.

Robbing the guard of his gun and the woman her card key I followed Michael's directions to a nearby elevator. Joker was being held on floor five. According to Arkham's system it was where the worst of the worst were locked away.

Getting to floor five required clearance the woman's card didn't give me. I could get to floor two, but I'd have to get creative for the other floors.

 _"There's a fire exit you can use, but there are three guards on this floor you have to get past."_

I eyes the gun in my hands thoughtfully. I'd never shot a gun before, so no doubt I was a shit shot. If the guards were alone I could lie in wait before taking them by surprise like I did with the first one. If they were paired I'd try my luck with the gun. "Direct me."

My eyes scanned every nook and cranny of the hallways I walked down. They were all blindingly white and I hated it.

After a short walk Michael made me take a left. It was empty, but there was a guard at the first right. Figures it was the direction I needed to go down.

"Are they walking towards or away from me?"

Silence and then, _"Away."_

Shuffling forward I bent my head around the corner to see the guard. Like before it was a man. He walked stiffly and obviously didn't feel comfortable working in the asylum.

I didn't make a single noise as I rounded the corner and swept towards the man. He was too tall for me to just cut into his neck. Jumping on him would cause too much of a ruckus, so when I got really close I prodded his shoulder.

He spun around in confusion, but his eyes immediately widened when a blade pierced the soft flesh of his neck. His ruined vocal chords prevented him from screaming in pain or for help.

One rushed smiley face later and I was rushing down the hall to find the fire exit. Two guards were in the next hallway. They walked side by side from one end of the hall to the other. "What do you suggest I do for them?"

 _"Killing them seems to work just fine so far."_

I tilted my head and sought out the nearest camera to glare at it. "I don't like your tone. Perhaps without a tongue I wouldn't have to worry about hearing it anymore?" Silence was my answer. "Thought so."

Hiding around the corner I waited for them to turn around and walk back down the hallway. When they turned around I slipped out of hiding. I made sure to keep my steps silent. Getting both of their attention at the same time would be bad. I needed to be quick enough to incapacitate one then kill the other.

The bulletproof vests kept me from stabbing them in the back. Stabbing their necks might not be quick enough, same with trying to stab them through the skull.

Tightening my grip around my knife I lunged forward and plunged the bade into the woman's leg. She immediately screamed in a mix of surprise and pain, falling to one knee while pressing her hands to the area the pain came from.

Her partner reached for her in surprise. His tone was full of concern as he retired asking what was wrong with her. He managed to spot me from the corner of his eye, and automatically lurched to grab his gun.

With my knife already out I managed to get gouge him right in the eye. He yelled in pain, and his hands automatically went from his gun handle to his eye. I took the opportunity to shove my knife into his temple, silencing his screams and causing him to slump to the floor: dead.

"Put your hands up."

Focusing my attention back on the woman I came face to nozzle with her gun. It was completely steady in one hand while her other was pressed to the back of her thigh. I watched the excessive amount of blood slip past her fingers onto the floor. "You're gonna die pretty soon." I noted her paling skin. "Very soon."

"I said, 'Hands up'!"

Cold sweat dotted her forehead. "Did I hit the artery?" I knew very little about the human body, but I knew there was an artery somewhere in your thigh.

"Hands up and…tell me your name." Her previously commanding tone was weakening. The gun in her hand began to shake.

I flipped my hair back and pointed at the name tag still pinned to my sweatshirt.

She finally collapsed from her knee onto her butt. The amount of blood loss was weakening her. "Im–possible."

"Oh?" Holding up my hands I kneeled down to her level. By now she was shaking really badly and only regained her wits when I took her gun from her. "Watch and learn."

I ignored her attempts to demand her gun back and turned to the already dead cop. I cut through the buckles on his bulletproof vest, followed by his shirt. The woman kept asking what I was doing and moving to stop me. She probably had less than a minute left of consciousness, so I needed to work fast.

"First I cut the eyes…" step by step I explained how I carved my smiley face. The circles for eyes always came first, and I made a series of cuts to make a pupil. By the time I finished them the woman was pleading for me to stop, that I was cutting up her friend. I just smiled and cut a squiggle for a nose. A U shape for the mouth, and another line over each eye for eyebrows. This face looked like it had an angry smile.

When I finished I put my signature "-T". I turned to the woman with an overly happy smile to see she'd already passed out. Huffing at the lack of audience I made quick work of cutting through her throat. Unconscious or no it felt wrong cutting into a live body.

After carving a face into her torso I grabbed her gun, along with the other gun I collected earlier, and shoved them into my drawstring. Down the hall every cell was empty. "Are these people at lunch?"

 _"Yes, but they're finishing soon. First and second floors share a lunch time. In ten minutes they're all going to return to their cells, and security will also be back. You need to hurry up."_

"Again with the tone. Tut. Tut. Your life span is shortening by the second."

His uncomfortable silence amused me. Practically every reaction this boy had amused me.

 _"You have a straight shot for the fire exit. Josh shut off the alarms, so you can get in without gaining any attention. From there it's a straight shot to the fifth floor."_

"How many guards on the fifth floor?" I ran for the exit and pushed open the door. Dim red lights were on every other step. Enough for me not to trip.

 _"Four. Two you can avoid, but there are two in Joker's hallway–one on each end."_

I growled so loudly it echoed down the staircase. "How am I getting rid of them?"

 _"While they're guarding the same hall they are separated. One is outside the door of the hallway. You might be able to surprise him somehow."_

"Yes, somehow, that really helps me." This mission was so half-assed I was surprised I'd gotten as far as I did. It's only worked so far because people are out to lunch. "How has security not seen me with the cameras?"

 _"Josh has feedback running on a loop for the monitors in the security room. We see real time while the guards are watching last Thursday."_

My eyebrows rose. This plan was going well because we had Joshua. I'm lucky Michael roped him into this, otherwise I'd be in handcuffs by now.

I reached a door with a big 5 on a plaque beside it. "Anyone outside the door?"

 _"The guard is about ten feet away."_

I sighed so loudly I wouldn't have been surprised if the guard heard it. "God this was so badly planned."

 _"The Joker doesn't–"_

"I'm not The Joker!"

Silence surrounded me. The plastic in my ear crackled before Michael whispered through, _"He heard you."_

Thinking on my feet I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Holding it up to my ear I pushed open the door and began babbling. "This is so stupid, I'm obviously not in the right place. I'm going to murder you when all of this is over because you are so fucking irritating right now–"

My rant got cut off by the wary and confused guard. "Miss?"

I looked at the guard and glared with all of the anger and irritation I currently felt. "I have to go, this guy is trying to talk to me. Maybe he can tell me where to go." Pretending to hang up the phone I shoved it back into my sweater. He was too focused on my face to pay any attention to my futuristic phone.

The two of us walked closer to one another. "Sir, can you help me?"

"I can certainly try, but…how did you get into the fire escape? And why?"

"Well I came to see my cousin, Jack, and the people giving me directions is leading me on a merry chase through this maze of a building so I decided the fire escape would be quickest."

He shook his head. "No, you should've been brought to a private room, and the alarm fire alarm should've gone off when you opened the door." He got a little closer.

I shrugged. "Maybe it's broken." I held out my hand for him to shake. "I'm T, by the way."

He took it, "I'm–" his mouth snapped shut and his eyes narrowed. "T?"

My smile became darker. "That's me." Inside my sweater pocket I had grabbed my knife the second I put my phone away. Now I had a good grip and was close enough to shove my knife where his jaw met his neck.

He choked on the pain and shoved me away. His hand went to his throat while the other fumbled with his gun. I rushed towards him, hoping to kill him before he got his gun.

The guard was quicker. He pulled out the gun right as I jumped for him. The shot went off and a second late my knife found its home in his forehead. He dropped like a puppet with its strings cut, and I fell with him.

He didn't make a noise, but I rolled off of him with a groan of pain. I pressed my hand against the burning pain and winced. The movement caused more pain and I cursed loudly.

 _"T! Where were you hit? Are you okay?"_

I groaned louder in answer.

 _"Where in your side did he hit you?"_

Grabbing onto the end of my sweater I slowly pulled it up so I could check on my side. I bent my head up to survey the damage and sighed in relief. "Just a graze. It looks bad, but nothing vital got hit in any case."

I heard him copy my relieved sigh. _"Thank God."_

"Don't tell me you would've been sad if he got me? Getting attached already Mikey?"

He sniffed. _"More like I'd be upset you died before freeing the Joker. All this hard work, wasted."_

"Yeah yeah." Pushing myself up brought more pain. I tried being careful while also not making any more loud noises.

Static came from my left. "Gus? Gus do you copy?"

I stared at the walkie-talkie attached to the guards vest. The person on the other end kept asking for "Gus". No doubt it's the man's name. Reaching for the device I unclipped it and brought it to my mouth. I pressed one of the buttons on the side to make the static pause. "Cop down."

Michael questioned my sanity, but I ignored him. The man on the other end would've come to see what was wrong anyway once Gus didn't answer the walkie.

The man immediately began demanding who I was, but it chucked the device at the wall hoping it would stop working. When it didn't I tried to ignore it so I could carve my usual smile into the man's body. I only finished the eyes before I heard banging on the glass door.

Snapping my head up I saw an angry cop on the other side of the window. He was glaring at me hatefully with an angry sneer. His voice was muffled, but I could hear him. "What are you doing, you sick fuck?!" He was angrily tapping something on the other side of the wall. "Open this door!"

 _"Josh locked the door so he can't get out, but you also can't get in."_

"Why would I want to go in there at all?"

 _"Joker is down there."_

My eyes shut in resignation. "Of course he is," I whispered to myself.

With the door locked I didn't feel as rushed to carve into the guys body. The entire time I heard the other guard screaming at me to stop, that he was a cop and he would arrest me.

Gun shots made me look up. Two small bundles of cracks appeared in the glass. The man obviously tried to break it by shooting it. I wondered if he knew it was bulletproof the glass or not.

Finished with the dead guard I got up to peer through the cracked door. The guard was talking rapidly into his walkie. He glared hatefully when he saw me. I couldn't quite make out what he was saying.

 _"They're trying to get the building into lockdown. We're holding it off, but you've only got about two minutes before they get passed us."_

I nodded and took off my drawstring to dig out one of the guns. I didn't know what it was called, but I at least managed to figure out I needed to pull back the top until it clicked. "Unlock the door."

 _"Alright."_ Michael didn't hide his unease. _"Done."_

A beep came from the door a second later. I walked closer to the door and looked at the keypad beside it. There were buttons and a screen asking for the password. "Password?"

 _"Josh is going to override it. When I say now the door will open. That's when you shoot him."_

Stepping away from the pad I stood at the center of the door and lifted the gun. The guard on the other side sneered. "It's bullet proof. You can't get in without the password."

 _"Now."_

The door opened and I immediately pulled the trigger. The first bullet hit the glass since it hadn't opened all the way. It also surprised me because I didn't know guns had a kick too them. I probably should've known, but I didn't have time to think about it.

His head was what I wanted to hit, but logically I knew I wouldn't be able to hit it when I had no practice with guns.

Out of the six bullets I shot I only hit him twice. Once in the vest and the other grazed his shoulder. I got closer and shot two more times, again in the vest. While it protected the bullets from entering him the impacts still hurt. He grunted for the first and hissed at the second. Each time he raised his gun to shoot I'd shoot him again. Always in the vest.

At last I finally managed to hit him. It hit him right beneath the vest he wore. He grit his teeth against the pain and his knees threatened to buckle.

Raising my gun a little higher I aimed and shot one last time. The bullet entered through his right eyebrow and exited through the back of his skull, taking bits of brain matter and blood with it.

I grimaced at the gory scene. My kills only dripped blood, but this was a bit more like an explosion. Blood traveled three feet behind him and a little got on the walls.

As I watched the go dead body the previously bright lights went out. Flashing red replaced them, along with a loud horn. My grimace became one of annoyance. "What is that!"

 _"They got the building on lockdown. A 'Code Red'. Josh and I are controlling the doors to the fire escape and the elevator."_

It was a little hard to hear Michael's voice. "Great. Where's Joker?"

 _"Fourth cell on your left."_

Stepping over the dead body and ignoring the bloody floor I examined each cell I passed. The first row was empty. The second cell on my left held the first patient I'd seen in the asylum.

He had short brown hair and piercing blue eyes. His stare unnerved me, and he could tell if his smirk was anything to go by. Not wanting to linger any more than necessary I continued on. The cells after him were occupied. None of them were familiar so I just surveyed each one until quickly moving on.

When I reached the fourth cell my heart stopped. Anxiety mixed with excitement made my palms sweat and hands shake. I took a deep breath as an attempt to calm my racing heart. Despite the fact it didn't work I still took that final step to see who the cell contained.

The Clown Prince of Crime sat cross legged on a bed in the back left corner of the cell. His hands rested on his knees while his head was tilted curiously. After so much time spent in the asylum the previously green dyed locks were fading back to their natural dirty blonde. His face, usually covered in paint for make-up, was bare. He was wearing a white jumpsuit I saw on the other patients.

"Hi."

I felt my voice break even though I couldn't hear it over the alarms. Inside his cell the Joker smirked. He teasingly cupped his hand behind his ear, signaling he hadn't heard me either.

I couldn't find the strength to shout so I just waved. Even though I couldn't hear him it looked like he was giggling as he waved back.

 _"T, we're having a little trouble."_

My eyebrows furrowed. "Trouble how?"

 _"The door won't open."_

"Are you–I came all this way just for you to fuck up last minute?!"

 _"We're trying, but Josh can't–"_

"He better fucking try before I leave without the Joker so I can cut off his balls!"

 _"Okay okay!"_ He sounded as panicked as I felt. If this all went to shit and got me arrested, without me being able to get the Joker out, I would be severely pissed.

Focusing back on the Joker's cell I jumped when I saw him standing right in front of the glass. I could kind of hear his maniacal laughter over the blaring sirens. Where finished he smiled widely. "Whoooo is this?"

I lifted one eyebrow and wondered how nobody spotted my visitor tag. Looking down to my chest I realized it was because my hair had grown long enough to where it completely covered it.

 _"58173."_

Ripping my eyes away from the laughing clown I stuck one finger into the ear without the plastic microphone. "What?!"

The flashing red lights and loud horn abruptly disappeared. I cautiously removed my finger from my ear, hoping the horrid noise wouldn't return.

 _"He stopped trying to unlock the door since its protected better than Fort Knox, but he could find the file with all of the door codes. Try 59173 in the keypad."_

The keypad was located on the right side of the glass door. Shuffling up to it I glanced over the buttons before finally lunching in the sequence Michael gave me. After punching in the 3 I waited for something to happen. It came in the form of the black numbers lighting up green.

I stepped away from the door and watched as it slowly slid open. Joker stood witching the threshold of his cell and stared at me with amusement. "Wha _t_ do I have _herrre_? A rescue? For mwah?" He dramatically placed his hand in his chest.

I licked my lips nervously. Without the glass barrier between us he was a lot scarier. "You could call it that."

He hummed. "I think I will. Too bad I'm not leaving."

My eyebrows flew up my forehead. "Wha–you–excuse–what?!"

Joker snorted at my eloquence. "I'm, uh, not leaving. I've got business to finish u _p_ here. This _'rescue'_ was a waste of your time." He turned around and sauntered back to his squeaky bed.

 _"Is he serious?"_

Michael was obviously just as confused about this as I was. But not as angry. _Definitely_ not as angry.

"You are absolutely right. This was a complete waste of my time. I just killed six fucking people for no goddamn reason, just so I could 'save' someone who didn't even want to leave! You know I only ever kill one person a day, Michael. One. After this the cops are going to be after my ass even more than usual. Good Christ, I'm going to kill you. Joshua too, just for the hell of it."

I ignored his panicked voice as I spun on my heel and marched back down the hallway. I saw the dead guard on the floor and felt my anger peak. Flipping out my knife I sawed through the vest and flung it somewhere down the hall. I tore off the shirt without a problem and stabbed my knife into his stomach all the way to the hilt.

Never before had I cut do deeply. They were always superficial wounds just deep enough so people should tell it was a face. I roughly ripped the knife into his skin and inch by inch the face took shape. Blood sluggishly poured out of the new wounds and I ignored it.

By the time I finished my hands were completely red and dripped with blood. Every one of my faces always had a smile on it. Either with a tongue or teeth or nothing. This time it was a frown, and the eyebrows were drawn diagonally, making it look angry.

The instance allowed my anger to simmer down into irritation. "Michael."

 _"…y–yeah?"_

I breathed heavily out of my nose. "Tell me how to get out of this building and I won't kill you."

 _"Or Josh?"_

"Or Joshua." I confirmed.

 _"Get up and go to the opposite end of the hall. There's a fire escape there that leads outside."_

"Why didn't I use that to get in?"

 _"There are usually guards blocking it, but one of them left when the alarm sounded. You can easily take care of the other."_

Sighing heavily through my nose I stood up to begin walking down the hall but stopped. Standing five feet away with bright eyes was the Joker himself. I mentally berated myself for not hearing him approach. My anger must've blocked out my surroundings and I didn't notice him.

"So." His eyes surveyed me from my toes back up to my head. "You're _T_." His scars stretched as his lips opened into a wide smile. "And they think you're a _man_!" Joker dissolved into peals of laughter. It bounced off the wall and resonated within my eardrums.

The Joker pretended to wipe away a tear. "Now _that_ is hilarious. Almost as funny as Batsy."

The door behind me suddenly I spun around with my knife in hand, but the gun was on the ground. I mentally cursed myself as the guard in front of me held Joker and I at gunpoint. "Both of you drop your weapons and get on the ground!"

Joker laughed. "I don't, uh, _have_ any weapons. How could I drop them?"

The guard snarled angrily. I didn't know if the comment warranted that much anger. "Get on the GROUND, freak!"

"Whoa!" I put my hands up without dropping my knife. "Name calling is not necessary."

"You shut up! Tell me where T is, or I shoot."

My arms dropped in disbelief. A beat later Joker was back in his usual hysterics. The guard was obviously confused by the reaction, but didn't lower his gun.

"Look you two, if you don't–" the back of his head exploded from the impact of a bullet. The man dropped, revealing a blonde woman dressed in a white coat.

My eyebrows flew up at the sight of her shooting a guard. She wore black framed glasses and her hair was done up in a messy bun. Beneath her coat she wore a black pencil skirt and a white blouse. The black heels only added to her professional look. She was clearly a doctor, yet she just shot the guard and not the actual threat.

"Are you okay, Puddin'?"

"I'm fine, dollface." The irritation in Jokers face worried me, but the woman smiled brightly at the response.

"Uh," I rose a hand, "I'm fine too, thanks for asking."

Joker cackled, making the woman pout at me. "Who are you?"

"Alright!" I put away my knife and bent to pick up the gun. "I'm out. You guys do whatever you want, but I'm going back to my hotel to take a nap."

The Joker stood between me and the rest of the hall. I slipped past him and jogged down the hall to the other glass door.

"Puddin' who's she?"

I looked back to see Joker and his blonde crony following behind me. "What are you doing?"

"Uh, leaving with _you_ , dearest."

The pet name he used made the woman glare at me. I rose an eyebrow at her. Why be angry at me? Be angry at your "Puddin". "Thought you didn't want to leave?"

The door opened on its own when I got closer to it. "I said I _couldn't_ leave. No _t_ that I, ah, didn't _want_ to leave."

"So why can you suddenly leave?" I took a right and saw the red exit sign hanging above a grey door. Joker answered me as I pushed it open.

"Couldn't leave without my Harls."

"Aww, Puddin'!"

I paused on my descent down the steps. "Harls?"

"Only Mr. J gets to call me Harls!"

 _"That's Doctor Harleen Quinzel. She's a fairly new psychiatrist at Arkham. I see she didn't last very long."_

I snorted, and because they couldn't hear Michael they thought I was laughing at Harleen. "What are you laughing at, huh?"

At the sound of a gun cocking I quickly stopped laughing. "Definitely not you Ms. Quinzel. My friend said something funny."

We made it to the first floor and Michael gave me information about the guard outside. Tilting my neck until it cracked I took my knife out of my pocket and opened it. I pushed the handle down as slow as possible and pulled the door.

Joker sighed heavily and pushed me out of the way. With a care-free laugh he yanked open the door and flung himself at the guard. They tumbled to the ground–Joker laughing and the guard yelling. It was cacophonous until Joker managed to snap the guards neck.

He got up from the ground and Harleen skipped over to him. She planted a kiss on his scarred cheek, making him sneer at her. Either she didn't notice it or she chose to ignore it so she could wrap him in a hug.

Not caring if they follow me I booked it in the direction of the green Cadillac. I could see it parked in the same place I left it. Loud sirens echoed over the grounds. The same ones that deafened me on the fifth floor.

Reaching for the passenger side door I tugged it open–only for a hand to shove me out of the way. "Shotgun!" With his signature cackle Joker fell into the car seat. Harleen tried getting onto his lap, but he pushed her out and closed the door.

Scrambling up I opened the back door and scooted into the middle seat. Joshua practically plastered himself against the opposite door. Whenever our arms brushed he would squeak and try squirming even further away. It only got worse when Harleen got into the seat next to me and shut her door.

Michael looked at the two crazies without knowing what to do. "Uh."

I ripped the microphone out of my ear when I heard his voice in my ear and from him. "Drive Michael!"

He stepped on the gas pedal, producing the smell of burnt rubber from the car tires, and peeled off. We passed cop car after cop car. As the only car leaving the vicinity a few of the cars broke off and followed us. Their red and blue lights flashed and their sirens went off.

"T!"

"What do you want me to do about it?!" I shouted back.

"Shoot them!" Michael glanced out his rearview mirror every second.

"I don't actually know how to aim a gun, just how to shoot it!"

Harley suddenly rolled down her window and leaned out of it with a crazy laugh. She used the gun in her hand to shoot bullet after bullet at the cop cars.

Sighing into my drawstring I grabbed the second gun and gave both of them to the Joker. "Here. You know how to shoot, right?"

He grinned excitedly. "I prefer knives, myself." Despite the random fact he took the guns and copied Harleen's actions.

"Loose them in the Narrows," I told Michael. "They rarely ever go down there so they won't know the roads that well."

Michael followed my advice, and twenty minutes later the chase ended with two ruined cop cars and the other four lost us.

"Pull over." Michael didn't question me and came to a slow stop on the side of the road.

"Wha _t_ are you, uh, doing?"

I looked at Joshua. His eyes widened and he scrambled to get out of the car. "I'm walking home from here. Good luck to you all."

Michael tried to stop me but I ignored him. As soon as I stepped out of the car I was out of there.


End file.
